Il Cielo dei Tre Regni
by Lunar Wave
Summary: Hongou Kazuto carries a great burden. He's the so-called Heavenly Messenger that is supposed to lead this country of chaos to peace. While he's not truly certain he's the Heavenly Messenger, there is no doubt that he is one beloved by the Sky; the Heir of the Vongola. Kazuto/Harem.
1. Prologue: The Heir of the Sky Descends

**Il Cielo dei Tre Regni  
** by Lunar Wave

Disclaimer: This story borrows the setting and characters of the Koihime†Musou series and borrows multiple elements from Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I own neither series.

Summary: Hongou Kazuto carries a great burden. He's the so-called Heavenly Messenger that is supposed to lead this country of chaos to peace. While he's not certain he's the Heavenly Messenger, there is no doubt that he is one beloved by the Sky; the Heir of the Vongola.

* * *

 **Prologue: The Heir of the Sky Descends**

* * *

 _"Mafia?"_

 _"Yeah, I lead a Mafia Group called Vongola, Kazuto…"_

 _"… Does that mean… you… are a criminal, daddy?"_

 _"N-no! Of course not! I just… You're right that Mafia is a criminal syndicate but… I vowed to drag Vongola back from its dark past and back to its original form… And… if that doesn't work… I vowed to be the one to destroy Vongola."_

 _"… Uh… does that mean you're… a good guy?"_

 _"Being good or not doesn't matter much. Even good people can be made to do bad things. But if I have to say it… yes, I'm one of the good guys; at least compared to the rest of the mafia."_

 _"… Have you killed someone before?"_

 _"… A few times… but sometimes, you have to kill to protect those that are important to you… After all… I'm not just protecting myself anymore… I'm the Vongola's Sky now. And the Sky's task is…"_

 _"Rain, Storm, Cloud, Sun, Mist, and Lightning, the sky influences all of them. The sky understands and accepts all of them."_

Those words still echoed within his head. The task of the sky… it had always resonated within him ever since he heard it. It felt so right… as though he had found a purpose he can run forward to. He won't ever recite the words like a mantra but he could always pull it back into his mind if he ever needed to remember those words. Word for word he memorized the roles of each guardian, but it will always be the Sky's role that he could resonate with.

* * *

-()-

Breathing calmly, the boy swung his _shinai_ (bamboo sword). Steady swings, never wavering; there is no rush in his movements. Wearing the traditional kendo armor, he swung calmly. Surrounding him are various other members of the Kendo Club, quite a lot of them attractive females. Some looked on in interest, others looking to find anything to criticize in his form, and others continued to do their own training. He was the recognized second strongest of the Kendo Club, right after the club's ace, Fuyurugi Kisaya. Only this boy had been able to challenge that title, but even he couldn't defeat this undefeated queen.

"Kazu-pii!" And then the quiet air around them broke upon the entrance of one strange existence. A non-club member, and ex-boyfriend of their ace, Oikawa Tasuku, the bespectacled second year arrived addressing the boy swinging the shinai. As though by instinct, the boy positioned himself to deal with a surprise attack and swung, stopping just short of hitting the neck. "WHOOOAAA! What the hell, man?"

"Oh… it's just you Oikawa." The boy sighed, lowering the bamboo sword.

"Dude! You just tried to cut my head off!"

"You're overreacting. This is a shinai, not a katana, idiot." The boy fiddled with his helmet a bit before removing it. Now, his features came into full view. Brown hair, somewhere in the middle of being well-kept and being windswept, an utterly average face, and relaxed eyes as he smiled at his friend. Average, that is the word you'd describe the boy as; nothing spectacular to look at. Even by looking, most people would actually be surprised to learn that he could give the Kendo Club's ace a run for her money. Hongou Kazuto shrugged before walking away from the practice area. "And anyway, you shouldn't have walked in the practice area so casually in the first place."

"That's your own fault isn't it? Shouldn't martial artists always pay attention to their surroundings?"

"That's faulty logic, and you know it, you bastard." Kazuto snorted, "And I didn't hit you, did I?"

"Anyway, Kazu-pii," Clearly not intending to acknowledge his statement, "did you already forget what we're going to do today?"

"… Huh? Did I make any plans with you?"

"No, but you do remember we need to deal with the winter break project the principal left us, right?"

"The report thing, huh? Well, I guess we could go now. Just let me get ready first."

"Sure, sure, just don't take your sweet time. I know the girls here are pretty, but you'll need to hold your sword in, if you know what I mean."

 _SWING!_

"Oy! Don't actually try to cut my head off!"

"Not the right stance for that.", came the nonchalant reply of Hongou Kazuto.

"Oy! Are you saying that if you had the correct stance, you could actually cut my head off?!"

"Now your overactive imagination is making you think such silly things. Leave, before it stops thinking at all." The dry humor in Hongou's voice made its way out and Oikawa grinned in reply, laughing as he left the room. Kazuto stared at the retreating back of his friend before he walked off to change.

* * *

-()-

Kazuto was mildly annoyed by his friend's incessant chatter. Oikawa never did learn how to shut up. Especially about his own… conquests, where he managed to get a girlfriend out of few of the girls of the school, and subsequently get dumped after a while mostly due to Oikawa's bragging. Although Kazuto has to say that Oikawa isn't exactly bad looking, he isn't that impressive. At best, Oikawa's brown hair and glasses would label him as average. Although he would also have to say he lives under the same label of average looking.

"… I thought that this was the perfect chance for a date!" Oikawa grinned.

"Which one is it this… on second thought, I honestly don't want to know."

"Don't be like that, Kazu-pii~!"

"You just want to boast the fact that you have a girlfriend before I did, you Casanova." An accusation from Kazuto, and Oikawa simply replied with a very toothy grin.

"Indeed! I'm a Casanova! A Romeo! If you aren't a Romeo when you're young, then you fail as a man!" Sometimes Kazuto thought that he should've attended high school at Namimori, but he had opted to go to St. Francesca to get away from the general craziness being in that supposedly peaceful town. But Oikawa is easy to hang around with, compared to the dull seriousness the rest of the boys here had.

"Didn't Romeo kill himself? Next to Juliet's not-quite-dead body, no less."

"Ah… Kazu-pii's non-romantic side showed itself. Out of all things you had to remember about Romeo it's that one?"

"I also remember that was the reason Juliet killed herself with her knife."

"… Dude… really?" Oikawa shook his head. Kazuto shrugged and kept walking…

 _Huh?_ Kazuto instinctively moved slightly to the left when a strange boy just walked past him. At first glance, the boy looked nothing special, but what caught his attention is the way the boy walked. Too… defensive, as though he expected to be jumped in a school environment. But it's not just defensive. Confidence oozes from his walk pattern, unlike traumatized victims who went through some self-defense classes. It's as though he was staring at a mafia gang leader who is secure in his position.

"… Huh? Did we have a student like that here?" He voiced.

"Never seen him before." Oikawa replied, "Why?"

"… Nothing." It might be his imagination only, and he certainly hoped so… But… His intuition has never failed him before, and his blood is screaming to him that the boy would be trouble in the future. He wrestled with his instincts for a bit before he finally managed to calm himself down. He turned back once more to see the boy disappear in the horizon.

"Don't tell me you are-"

"No. Oikawa. I am not batting for the other team as you love to point out. I am very much straight." Kazuto snorted.

"So you say, but you don't even have a girl in mind at all. Aside from Fuyurugi Kisaya, that is, and even then you mostly just want to beat her at Kendo."

"I'm not the kind of person who would ask out any girl that I find attractive, Oikawa." Mostly because he doesn't want to drag anyone into his most likely future life as a mafia ruler. This was left unsaid. "I'd like a girlfriend, yes, but I think I'll consider crossing the line if they ask me out first."

"Oh, going to play the waiting game? Wait for the girls to confess first, huh? Heh, well, I'm sure there are a few girls here that will find you attractive you know? You're the other ace of the Kendo Club, your grades aren't half bad, and you are at least above average when it comes to looks. We only have three years of High School Life, you know! You should be spending it with a cute girl!" Oikawa snorted, "Not those fancy old books you like reading so much."

"I'll have you know those books are required readings by my tutor." Kazuto replied.

"Oh you mean Bon-sensei? I wonder why he likes those old stuff like that. He looks to be about the generation where people have begun using phone apps."

"Eh, who knows? Maybe he's older than he looks."

"Maybe. Ah well, doesn't matter! Let's get to that museum and finish the stupid report."

"Yeah, you're right." Even after that chat, Kazuto couldn't help but remember what his instinct screamed. He'll have to talk to "Bon-sensei" soon. He just hoped Namimori's craziness hasn't found him, yet. He only had a year and a half left, dammit…

* * *

-()-

First of all, the only opinion Kazuto had for the museum is that…

"They went all out…" Does a school museum really need to have all these stuff?

"I wonder how much it costs…" Oikawa muttered.

"Millions, at least. The displays actually look authentic." Most likely, they are. Kazuto thought. A gut feeling is saying that they are, at the very least. "And no. Oikawa. Even if you recite to me all your conspiracy theories about St. Francesca, it's more likely to get you kicked out first."

"… You sure like to take the wind from my sails here."

"I've been your friend for almost two years now. I know your stupid insistence on those theories."

"They're not stupid if they're true."

"And you don't know that. Now come on, I'm actually interested in this display." Kazuto pointed to one of the rooms. Upon entering, Kazuto can see ancient weapons, spears, and various scrolls are displayed on the walls.

"Huh… according to the brochure, these artifacts come from the late Han Dynasty."

"The Three Kingdoms Era, huh? That would be 1800 years ago."

"Bon-sensei must be really brutal on you if you actually remember those things." Oikawa said, with a sympathetic tone.

"He's brutal yes, but this part of history I was actually interested in." Kazuto admitted. "I would usually sneak a few minutes reading about this part of history."

"First of all, you're not Chinese. Why would you care about this part of history at all?" Oikawa pointed out.

"I learned Chinese from Bon-sensei too, and a lot of the things he taught me are related to the country."

"Like I said, way too harsh."

"Eh, whatever you say." Kazuto laughed before surveying the room, before finding his eyes honed in on a specific individual. "It's that boy again."

"… Huh, oh yeah? So he was headed here, huh?" Okay, now he's worried. Kazuto traced the boy's line of sight, and found that the boy was looking rather interestingly at a strange mirror. Kazuto best take note of that.

"… It's rare enough to find a boy that we do not know…"

"Yeah. Considering how few boys there are in the school, what you say makes sense… Maybe he's in the younger years?"

"… Maybe." Kazuto decided to keep his observations away from Oikawa. His friend didn't need to worry about it. "Well, we're here for the report, so maybe he's the same?"

"Maybe. Well then let's go!" Oikawa laughed, walking away. Kazuto moved to follow but not before hearing the next words coming out of the strange boy's mouth.

"… Here… it… begins."

Kazuto's eyes narrowed. Yes, this boy was definitely suspicious.

* * *

-()-

After spending a few more minutes listening to Oikawa's relatively random fantasies about various exhibits, and taking his own notes about them, Kazuto decided to leave to meet Bon-sensei… or rather Reborn-sensei, to inform the tutor about the information he came across.

"Hmm… I don't know anything about that mirror that makes it special, but… heh, interesting. Well then, Bakazuto. Why don't we make this your training?" The man smirked, pulling out a belt with various boxes attached to it. Kazuto looked somewhat amazed at the sheer amount of boxes Reborn placed on the damned thing. A drawstring bag was also tossed at him, probably containing boxes that are still valuable but not needed to be readily accessed. "Keep the boy from stealing anything, or if you're too late, take back what he stole."

"Somehow, I knew that would be what you would say." Kazuto sighed, before taking the belt and safely fastening it around his waist. "Sure, let's take on someone who looks strong enough to actually beat me alone."

"You wouldn't have to do this alone if you would get someone as part of your guardians already." Reborn snorted, casually having his shape-shifting chameleon, Leon, turn into a handgun, most likely to threaten him if he tried to sass it up again.

"Reborn-sensei, the only one remotely strong enough around here to be considered is Fuyurugi-sempai." Kazuto noted, "And I don't really need guardians yet. My dad would probably hold the reins for another twenty years and even forty if he wanted to." Kazuto shrugged, toying with a ring that had an orange gem on it.

"Well, if you find out the boy could be a good guardian, you can hand him one of the rings. You also have a spare set of rings, in case you need it, in your bag." So two sets of rings… well he supposed it made sense to have a spare sky ring in case he needed it. He doesn't exactly have the nigh-unbreakable Vongola Set with him.

"I'm very unlikely to want him in Vongola so soon after our fight but okay…" Kazuto nodded, before lighting the gem on fire. Dying Will Flames… The manifestation of one's resolution, bearing the colors of the rainbow, and classified by the various phenomena of the sky, the flames burned brighter and brighter the more he put power within it. Tht being said…

"The power behind it is seriously lacking, Bakazuto." Reborn-sensei noted disapprovingly, causing Kazuto to wince. The flame flickered slightly, but maintained it as much as he could. "Your resolution is lacking."

"… There isn't much to be resolved about." Kazuto sighed, before narrowly dodging a bullet from Reborn's gun. "Except death threats." Kazuto added before dodging yet another bullet. Three strikes. Next one will ensure pain and destruction.

"Hmm… I suppose that's natural considering how well Decimo is handling things." Reborn grunted, "You also have a new stock of dying will pills in the bag, but for this one, we'll be using the Rebuke Bullet." His flame might be weak, but he had spent quite a lot of his lifetime training under Reborn. Learning the Dying Will Mode was one of the first steps, and… soon after, he learned the Hyper Dying Will Mode. Which is a major achievement for him, despite, as Reborn said, a less than stellar Dying Will Flame.

"Right." He tapped the box directly on his left side, and, as it opened, pulled out a _bokken_ (wooden sword).

"Well then, Sawada Kazuto, are you ready for your first real battle in almost a year?" Reborn smirked, standing up.

"Yeah, I guess so." Kazuto nodded swinging his sword a few times. "I'm just questioning if I need all these things." Gesturing at the bag,

"Doesn't hurt to be prepared." Reborn replied easily. "While I don't expect this to be some sort of prolonged battle, I just thought you best be prepared to evacuate from here in case the boy has done something to the school."

"So he might've been able to rig the place somehow?"

"Without me knowing, I doubt that." Reborn replied. "But he could just as easily destroy the place if he has a powerful flame." Of course. The Flames, regardless of Sky or Earth, are all dangerous. He just hopes that it won't come to that. He fixed the bag onto his back.

"What else did you put in here."

"Just the bare essentials." Reborn flippantly responded.

"Bare essentials, for an heir of a world famous mafia family, right?" Kazuto replied, to which Reborn simply grinned.

"Now, you are seeing things my way." That means, he probably has a black suit here in at least one of the boxes, an electric charger powered by fiamma voltage, probably even his airbike. No… if it's Reborn, he'll place the airbike on one of his belt boxes… And there it is.

"Somehow, you just managed to make me a bigger prize if I get caught." Kazuto sighed. So much mafia technology here… If he is ever caught with them, he might have just spelt doom to the world.

"Then don't get caught." Reborn shrugged, clearly telling him to treat that as training as well. "Oh, just so we're clear, Bakazuto. If this is a false trail, or the boy isn't worth our time, I'm going to upgrade your thrice a week training schedule and make it a full week."

Ah, there's the threat he has been expecting all this time.

* * *

-()-

Stake out. A hitman's bread and butter. Also a relatively reckless boy's worst nightmare. Nothing bores a person more than waiting for someone to come, without even knowing if the person would even arrive at all. But Kazuto's Intuition was still churning his insides, making this seemingly tranquil night restless. Something is going to happen. He just needed it to happen soon before he gets too tired. It was also too cold to actually wait forever. He would've used his flame to warm himself up, but Reborn told him to hold on to it for now.

Reborn should be positioned on a rooftop nearby; somewhere he can see both the museum and Kazuto's location at the same time. The man is also better versed in this art. After all, he's the world's greatest hitman. This sort of thing is something the man was practically born to do. And the hitman didn't seem to mind doing this, there being no threats from his earpiece; Reborn probably already expected the quiet in the first place.

The nearby lamps started flickering. Ah, there's Reborn's signal. Cutting off the electricity, so that the cameras won't catch them, as well as keep the area too dark for any outsider to spot the situation easily. He shouldn't actually need to use his flames for this.

"Visione Notturna." He mumbled, sending a bit of flame to activate his contact lenses' Night Vision mode. He now has potentially one more advantage against his opponent now.

 _Brattle-brattle-brattle-brattle_

The sound of footsteps on grass… Kazuto was sure.

 _Brattle-brattle-brattle-brattle_

Yes, that is definitely the sound was heard. From the direction of the museum, he realized. Kazuto readied his wooden blade. So he was already too late huh? Did the boy stay inside the museum somehow and waited till the dead of night before he stole the artifact? No matter. As soon as the boy appeared in his field of vision, he jumped.

"You; what do you think you're doing this late at night?" The boy stopped his movements upon seeing Kazuto with his wooden blade. Kazuto surveyed the boy and found, yes the mirror is being held close to his hand. "… I knew it. You decided to steal the mirror. For what reason, I don't know, but whatever you are up to, you better quit now."

"And who are you to stop me?" The boy replied with a cold voice, before launching a kick at Kazuto.

 _Fast!_ Kazuto growled, as he dodged the kick with a backstep. If he didn't have his Hyper Intuition, that might have actually hit him. So a martial artist, huh? Primarily a kick user, considering that he's confident to hold his stolen object in his hands rather than in a box. Not only that, he's good enough to accurately strike at his vitals with only sound and limited eyesight as his basis. The stolen mirror was then pocketed before the opponent took an actual stance.

"So that's how you want to play, huh?" Kazuto replied, before bringing the wooden sword in the stance he generally uses for Kendo. And with that the two started their dance.

An overhead strike was parried with a free hand. A kick was blocked by the wooden blade.

"Ch… you're not an ordinary guy…" Kazuto growled as he felt the strength behind that kick. Powerful. That kick was too powerful. It was as though he was facing his father's Sun Guardian again.

"Shut up. This is where you die." Three consecutive kicks, like sickles through grass came. Kazuto blocked all of them, but he was starting to feel the numbing of his arms.

"Not going to happen." Kazuto muttered, before launching his own set of strikes. "Why are you stealing that mirror?"

"Stealing? You mean this thing?" A smirk appeared on the boy's face. "You don't need it. What's wrong with taking something people don't need?"

"Now I'm more interested on why you are so interested in the damned thing in the first place." Kazuto replied, grunting as a palm thrust struck his sword.

"That interest will be your downfall. If you don't want to die, you should just leave. Pretend this never happened."

"Sorry, but I don't listen to a petty thief." Kazuto snorted, before finally taking a stance.

"So you will insist on getting in my way? Well then I guess I'm going to have to kill you. Without the key to open the door, history will never be rewritten, and this story shall end here."

"… Key… huh?"

"I have nothing else to say, die!" The boy rushed forward in a flurry of palm thrusts and kicks.

In an instant, the wooden blade in Kazuto's hand turned into a katana. ' _Gofuu Juuu_.' Kazuto thought, before disappearing from his opponent's already limited vision.

"What?" The boy tried to seek his opponent, but he couldn't even hear his opponent's breathing. It was as though he had vanished… or… "Matching your breathing with mine. How foolish!" The boy struck at a seemingly random side. Kazuto growled, before blocking the punch that was sent at his way. He knew his grasp on the more advanced forms of Shigure Souen Ryu is not as great as he'd like it to be, but for the boy to so easily find him despite using the 4th form… it said much about his opponent's skill. He allowed his sword to shift back into the form of a wooden sword. He didn't want to kill his opponent if it can be helped.

"I shouldn't have treated you like an opponent I can just take on so easily, I suppose." The boy muttered. "Well, then, prepare yourself." And suddenly, like a dam burst, an aura radiated from the boy. Killing intent abounded the atmosphere, almost choking him with the ability. But this isn't Dying Will Flames. The boy has yet to use Dying Will Flames.

This isn't the first time he has been in a deadly situation. You don't unlock the power of Hyper Intuition by being safe for your entire life. Nor do you unlock Hyper Dying Will Mode without being faced with deadly situation after deadly situation. And you don't survive this long in the world of Mafia without many Mafioso trying to take your life. And as a training exercise, Reborn had put him time and time again in the line of fire. But each time he had grown stronger with every encounter. According to Reborn, he should be as strong as his father had been after his first battle with Rokudo Mukuro. Slow compared to the fact that his father had been 14 during that encounter, but quicker than most other Vongola Heir candidates.

And then he felt it. A bullet to his forehead. A familiar sensation of his will to live igniting. Flames burst from the impact point, focusing his enhanced senses to such a degree that, even if he didn't have night vision in his contacts, he probably would still be able to see the world as though the sun was out. But now, he was a beacon of light in the dark alley, and the opponent doesn't need to rely on his other senses to see much anymore. Quickly, he turned his night vision off.

Now it was a matter of skill.

Kicks and punches were parried and dodged. Sword swings were blocked and dodged. The two boys traded blows equally and quickly. He then took a chance. The sword in his hand shifted into the form of a katana once more. Kazuto swung his blade in his right hand. The boy thrust his palm towards the predicted path of the blade to block it and… found the hand empty. But before he could react, Kazuto had swung his left hand as well, revealing the blade in it, and striking the boy's stomach. A small gash cut through the boy's (clearly stolen) uniform and the sword, wreathed in orange flames, also scorching it slightly.

"Gggh!" The boy growled as he stepped backwards.

 _Shigure Souen Ryu, Fifth Form Offensive, Samidare._

Shigure Souen Ryu, the sword style best known for being one of the few sword styles that encourage every succeeding generation to add to it, to enhance it. This allowed it the reputation of being invincible despite only being nine to ten generations old. No two masters of the style carry all the same forms. It is also best known for being the sword style of Yamamoto Takeshi, his father's current Rain Guardian and Ninth Generation master of the style. But… Kazuto didn't really learn the style from him. Instead he learned it from an old Sushi Restaurant owner named Yamamoto Tsuyoshi, during his three year stay in Namimori prior to boarding at St. Francesca. So he's also a Ninth Generation user.

Kazuto never did get to master it, despite the three years of training. Even now, he couldn't get a full grasp on the second form and couldn't do the sixth form at all. So he still felt rather unworthy of learning the style. But now, he was using that style to face an enemy.

"You're pretty good…" The boy growled, as he held his slightly bleeding stomach. "But this is the end."

"We shall see about that." _Shigure Souen Ryu, First Form Offensive Shajiku no Ame._ His mind registered the technique's name as he rushes forward in a simple thrusting motion. His blade was wreathed with his Dying Will Flames, the orange colored flames dancing brilliantly upon the katana's surface.

The boy moved to dodge it by jumping to the side… but it was too late; the thrust had pierced the side of the boy's pants. And with the pierced gash on his leg, the bronze mirror was tossed into the air.

"Damn it!" The boy growled as he pulled away, ignoring the pain and rushed to grab the mirror. Kazuto moved to follow suit, still using the momentum of his technique to rush forward. But neither was able to grasp the mirror before it struck the road.

 _BREAK SHATTER_

The sound of breaking mirror was heard in that yard.

The anger contorted the face of the thief. "Shit! How dare you do this to me?"

"Me? You stole the damned thing in the first place." Kazuto snorted back, his mind still calmed down by his Hyper Dying Will Mode. But he still couldn't help feeling slightly panicked as he looked at the wrecked mirror. And his intuition flared! Something is wrong… but… what?

"You don't know anything, so quit talking!"

And in that instant, a bright light echoed across the pathway. He instinctively closed his eyes and he stopped sending flames to his contacts to deactivate the night vision mode.

[Oy! Bakazuto, what's going on there?] Reborn's voice echoed into his ear, but he didn't have the time to move. He needs to get out of the light…

"It's no use. You cannot go back. The curtain has been drawn."

"What are you talking about?" Kazuto replied with a raised tone.

"Be swallowed by the light. That is the punishment that has befallen you."

Kazuto growled, as he tried to move again, but his feet seemed to have lost all strength, and he felt his Hyper Dying Will Mode receding. His panic started building up again, and he felt the near suffocating feeling of his senses being unfocused once more.

"Now! View the truth of the world with your own eyes!" The boy still ranted, even as Kazuto's consciousness faded away. That was the last thing he remembered before everything he knew changed.

* * *

-()-

A single light shone within the early morning sky. A girl with rose-colored hair, prepared to set off to sell her mats, saw it fall. A pull. She felt a strange pull towards the light…

"… mother, I… Did you see that meteor?" The girl murmured, as she laid down the mat in her hand upon the floor.

"The falling star? Is there something the matter?" The girl's mother asked, slightly worried.

"… I feel like… as though something is calling me…"

"… Then follow it, dear. If your destiny has finally appeared, then take the chance. Leave the mats here. I don't think you should face destiny carrying those." Ryuubi looked surprised, before putting it down.

"Very well, mother. I'll be back soon." The girl bowed, a bright smile tinting her face. Arming an ornate sword onto her side, and bringing a single bag of money and some food, the young girl chased after the location of the falling star.

"Do not hurry. If anything… I would rather you return when your destiny has been fulfilled." The mother smiled softly, before watching her daughter run towards that fading orange light. "Take care… Touka."

* * *

-()-

The same light that the rose haired girl saw was also seen by two young girls. One, who has black long hair and is undoubtedly the elder, watched the same sky that the younger redheaded girl by her side did. The light that shone brightly and they felt a strange pull, a sense of belonging to the light. It falls down somewhere in the nearby mountains but…

"… Is that…" The younger one muttered.

"Kanrou's prediction, right?" The elder one nodded. "… the chance for peace upon these troubled times…"

"… Let's go, Aisha!" The younger girl brightly smiled, grasping a spear nearly thrice her height and dashing out the door.

"Wait, Rinrin!" The other girl cried, grabbing her own weapon, a guandao decorated with a green dragon's head, and the two dashed away to the fading orange light.

* * *

-()-

 _From above, wreathed in sky's flame,  
comes a messenger from the heavens.  
Together with the Imperial Descendant,  
he will gather his guardians  
and bring peace to these warring lands._

* * *

 **Prologue End**

* * *

Okay, introductions time! I'm Lunar Wave, writer of various crossovers (single fandom stories from me are rare) that remain unfortunately unfinished for various reason, mostly due to Writer's Block.

So here I am, writing a story about Koihime Musou crossed with KHR elements. Unfortunately, you probably won't see a lot of KHR characters except in Flashbacks. Even Reborn here is mostly… just there. This is Kazuto's story for the most part, and his journey as he treks the genderbent world of Koihime Musou. And yes, Kazuto IS Tsuna's son, in case I haven't hammered it in yet.

Unfortunately, this chapter is not beta read. Checking the Beta Reader's section of Koihime Musou, I only found five beta readers, four Beta Readers in English, and none of them has KHR as a preferred category. Ah well, I'll have to deal with this on my own I suppose.


	2. Meeting Under the Same Sky

**Il Cielo dei Tre Regni  
** by Lunar Wave

Disclaimer: This story borrows the setting and characters of the Koihime†Musou series and borrows multiple elements from Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I own neither series. Also, considering Koihime†Musou could be considered a fanfic of the Three Kingdoms, I'd also like to say I don't own anything related to the stories of the Three Kingdoms.

* * *

 **Meeting Under the Same Sky**

* * *

 _"Bakazuto. Your resolution is really lacking. How far does your inferiority complex to your father go?" Reborn scoffed._

 _"What can I do? My dad pretty much changed the entire structure of the mafia! He already changed it for the best! How do you top that?"_

 _"That defeatist attitude will get you killed, Bakazuto."_

 _"It's not like I wanted that. Tell me, Reborn, what else do you think I can add onto the legacy of Sawada Tsunayoshi? I might be able to continue a lot of his projects but I don't want to become just my dad's successor. I want to be Kazuto, who contributed something to Vongola… I want to know that I'm not just going to inherit his title so that I can maintain his legacy and pass it on."_

 _"One day, Vongola will have a crisis, and Decimo will not be strong enough for it. When that time comes, you will be the one who will bear that mantle, no matter how heavy it is."_

 _"And I will do my best to do so." Kazuto replied. "Because let's be honest, that's all I'm good for now… There isn't anything special about me compared to my father."_

 _"There wasn't anything special about your father in the beginning." Reborn snorted. "You, on the other hand, have talents in things your father never dreamed he would ever have. Your base skill is good. The fact that you managed to learn the Shigure Souen Ryu is proof of that. Even if you only have mastery over some of the eight forms and can only perform them perfectly under Hyper Dying Will Mode, that talent is something he would never have. Your intuition is more honed than your own father's at the start. You even managed to learn both variations of Zero Point Breakthrough. Even if you did spend more than a year doing so. Also, you cook better than he'll ever be able to."_

 _"I know… I have more talent than my father. But… In the end, all I could see in my future is to continue all the projects that my father had begun and create new ones as I see fit."_

 _"… I see… Well, I guess my first step is to kick that inferiority complex out of you." Reborn pulled out a machine gun and started chasing him._

Kazuto did not regret being born to his father. Hell, he knew that he admired his father, more than anything. He also knew that, despite everything, he is not his father. He is not Primo reincarnated. But he knew that he will have to carry their mantle and press on forward, no matter how heavy it may be. He had already resolved himself to at least inherit it properly, because he knew that he probably would never find a higher calling than that.

* * *

-()-

When Kazuto woke up, it was to the face of a teenage girl's worried face: rose-colored hair, bright blue eyes, and a kind look to her face. The girl is remarkably pretty, just from the face. Kazuto mentally shook that thought out of his head. Focus. Breathe in, and out.

"Ummm… are you alright?" Fluent Japanese exited the young girl's mouth. Huh. Well, despite how she looked, the girl seemed to be more or less Japanese? She had a more Chinese feel to her, so he wasn't entirely sure. Now that his eyes were more focused, he could see that her clothes were anything but natural. She is wearing what appears to be some sort of Chinese peasant clothing… But the girl herself didn't really look all that much of a peasant. She had a sort of atmosphere around her that made him feel strange… protective yet not subservient… The boy had to look away to keep himself from staring too long.

"Yeah… I guess." He replied cautiously. A look in the background already told him a lot of things. First, he's no longer anywhere in Japan. That in itself is not odd. Teleportation technology wasn't anything entirely new; it just required tons upon tons of flames that it was still rather unwieldy. His current location seems to be taken straight out of a Chinese Sumi-e painting.

"Where am I?"

The girl hesitantly gave a location upon which Kazuto's face paled slightly. Unless he's hearing this wrong… does that mean… Dammit. So China it is. Although, why is she speaking fluent Japanese? Part of his training is learning Chinese, so he could've communicated with her using that, but the fact that she can speak Japanese so well is a mystery to him.

"Oh, right, I haven't introduced myself yet… I'm Sa…" It's been nearly two years; how the hell is he still not used to this? "I'm Hongou Kazuto, Second Year High School Student at St. Francesca Academy."

"… Second Year? Second year of… what? Sey… Fran Ches Ka…? Uh…" Was this place that backwater? He understood not understanding St. Francesca's name, but not even Second Year?

"I'm a student in the second year of my training instruction in one of the higher levels of learning in a school referred to as St. Francesca Academy."

"… Ah, I see, a student. Second Year into it? How many years are there? And levels?" Well… Kazuto supposed he can go into a bit of an exposition on the school system… but… does she seriously not know these things?

"Well, so far I'm in my third level of instruction. Starting from the bottom, you have the… elementary school, middle school, and high school, each with their own different difficulty in terms of schooling. Elementary school starts from when you are six and continues for six years. After that, you move onto middle school and after three years' worth of middle school, you move onto high school, which is also three years."

"Eh… So you spend… twelve years just studying? And from so young?" The girl looked amazed. "You must be really knowledgeable."

"Not to brag, but yeah, I'm in the top percentage of my year level." Kazuto sheepishly scratched his head. He kind of had to be at the top considering his Spartan teacher would utterly demolish him if he isn't. Looking around, he spotted his wooden sword. Sighing calmly, he picked it up, and placed it on his shoulder.

"I see. You must be a really learned individual then! Oh, I almost forgot, my family name is Ryuu, my given name is Bi, and my style name is Gentoku. It's nice to meet you." The girl bowed politely, with a bright smile, as though she hadn't said anything confusing.

"… what?" Kazuto looked blankly in shock at the response of the girl, "What did you just say? I don't think I heard you correctly…"

"Oh, okay. I'm Ryuubi, style name Gentoku. It's nice to meet you, Hongou Kazuto-san."

"Ryuubi Gentoku? As in Liu Bei Xuande? The Hero of Peace and Lord of Shu Han?"

"Uh… I don't… understand? Shu Han, Hero of Peace?"

Kazuto backtracked. It seems that the girl didn't really understand his own shock. Liu Bei Xuande, or Ryuubi Gentoku in Japanese, is something of a famous individual. Kazuto firmly believed that there shouldn't be anyone who is unaware of the man's actions, especially in China, although that might be a bit slightly racist, all things considered. But this girl seemed genuinely confused. "… Eh? Umm… Were you named after the famous Hero from the Three Kingdoms Era?" Using the onyomi, he added in his mind.

"Three Kingdoms? Era? Ummm… As far as I'm aware I wasn't named after anyone…" Ryuubi pondered. "Well, I could ask my mother, if you would like…"

"I think… Yeah, it would probably be more helpful if I spoke to an adult about this." Kazuto nodded.

"… I am an adult." Ryuubi pouted. Kazuto looked at Ryuubi and sheepishly scratched his head.

"Oh, sorry if I offended you or anything."

"No, it's fine." The girl smiled brightly. "But anyway, I suppose we should go see my mother soon."

"Well look what we have here." And with that, three men, with yellow scarves tied to their head appeared before the two.

* * *

-()-

Ryuubi wasn't entirely sure what's going on when she found Hongou and herself surrounded by enemies. One man was at least twice her height and probably more than thrice her weight. The other is a small man, smaller than even herself. And the third was a man who seemed to position himself as the leader of the trio.

Ryuubi didn't know a lot about fighting. She's probably good enough to fight off common bandits, but she has no experience in that, but this is three on two… She couldn't be certain of victory in this kind of situation… Hongou seems to only have the wooden blade in his hand for defense, and she certainly hoped he's skilled enough with it.

"What do you gentlemen want from us?" Hongou bravely asked, as he took a stance with his wooden blade. She herself moved to hold her sword easily. Yellow scarves on their heads… Are these the infamous bandits that plague these lands?

The small one chuckled. "Oh, us? Well, for starters, your bag and clothes first, boy. Next, the girl for a bit of fun." Hongou's eyes narrowed.

"Bandits, I presume?" Ryuubi said, her voice slightly troubled, before drawing the sword on her side.

The leader-like individual seemed angry at that response, "Bandits? No! We are members of the great Yellow Turban Army. You have some nerve to refer to us as common bandits."

"You want my belongings, and you want to rape the girl right next to me. I fail to see how that differentiates you from other bandits." Hongou snorted, his wooden sword pointed at the one man who seems to be the leader of the trio.

The man grinned, "So you won't yield brat? There's three of us, and only two of you. And neither of you look the type to be any good at fighting."

Hongou smiled, and laughed. "Then clearly you aren't a martial artist of any kind."

"What do you mean?" The fat one asked.

"Any martial artist could tell when someone has trained enough to fight. If you couldn't see it in me, then you must rely on those swords of yours to do your dirty work most of the time." Hongou shrugged, "I shouldn't even need her help for this." And the boy took a stance. "Heh, I bet even she can beat all three of you even if I didn't help. You don't mind if I take these three, right?"

"I… don't really like fighting in the first place…" Ryuubi nodded before lowering her sword slightly, "Go ahead, Hongou-san."

"I suppose that's to be expected from someone named after the Hero of Peace." Hongou chuckled. Ryuubi looked back in confusion. There it is again. The boy referred to her as a Hero of Peace. But why?

"You… are you underestimating us, you punk!?" The midget roared, "Hey, Fatso, beat him up already."

"Okay." The fat one wobbled forward, his sword menacing to the sight, but that was all there is to it as Hongou Kazuto rushed forward without fear.

And then suddenly, in a quick flash, Ryuubi couldn't help but notice it; the wooden sword in the boy's hand turned into steel, and the boy quickly slashed at the fat man with ease. " _Shinotsuku Ame._ " The boy said, as he finished his attack, which consisted of multiple slashes sent towards his foe. The fat man flew backwards hitting the midget, who had been rushing forward to follow up, and knocked the small man into unconsciousness. Ryuubi watched as Hongou Kazuto then pointed the clearly steel blade at the leader's neck. "Now it's two on one. Anything you'd like to say? I'd rather not make a bastard like you be my first kill."

"W-… when did you… get that sword?"

"Does it matter?" The boy smiled, "By the way, I used the flat of my blade so they should only be dazed. You can take them back if you'd like. Just leave us alone."

"Do… do you really think I'll just retreat that easily!?" The man roared before running forward. Hongou Kazuto looked in mild disinterest as he took a stance. And suddenly, a spear had appeared between them.

"What do you think you are doing to this noble, filthy bandit?" a strong, feminine voice echoed causing all those conscious in the area to turn to the source. A tall girl, with long, black silky hair. Her clothes were chiefly in colors of white and green, with gold trimming, as well as a dark blue skirt. But what's of note is her polearm, a guandao, decorated with the head of a green dragon.

"Yeah, bring it on!" Another, more childish, girl's voice echoed, and a smaller redheaded girl appeared, brandishing a spear twice longer than she is tall. But the way she effortlessly carried the spear shows her strength. Her midriff is bared for all to see, a tiger print jacket covered her tight dark blue shirt, with tight blue pants and two belts with a yin-yang decorated onto it. On her hair was a tiger head hairpin.

"… Ch… che!" The man grumbled before kicking at his fallen comrades. "Wake up you loafs; we need to get outta here. There's too many of them!" And with that the trio scrambled to their feet and ran as fast as they could.

* * *

-()-

"… I hope letting them live won't come to bite us back." Kazuto sighed, before smiling, "Ryuubi-chan, are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine." Ryuubi smiled back, before sheathing away her sword. She turned to the other two, and with a bow, said, "Thank you as well. Your help was very much appreciated."

The redheaded child grinned, "It was nothing. Rinrin is more than enough to beat them. Although, I don't think we needed to help at all, huh? The oniisan over here did really well, despite being a noble."

"Huh? Noble? What do you mean by that?" While he does slightly count as a noble, he never did consider himself one. At best, he considered himself the heir of a crime syndicate, which is really, really not something he wanted to just tell these girls so soon after meeting them.

The child looked back in confusion, "Well, you're dressed up in those shiny clothes, so Rinrin thought you were a noble… aren't you?"

A shake of the head from Hongou before he smiled, "These clothes are made from polyester. And to be fair, it's fairly common from where I came from."

"Po-li-e-ster?" Ryuubi enunciated. The three girls looked at the boy in confusion.

"A strange cloth created through means I don't honestly know all too much about." He confessed. "Sorry, can't be much help there." Seeing their rather confused looks, "I'm not a tailor."

"No, it's fine." The black-haired girl smiled. "We were just wondering… Did you… see anything of note here?"

"Well, apart from me apparently waking up in the middle of nowhere, eh, nothing much." Kazuto chuckled, "Oh, I suppose I should introduce myself. I am Hongou Kazuto." He bowed once, before quickly straightening his back.

Ryuubi followed suit quickly. "I am Ryuubi, my Style Name is Gentoku. It's nice to meet you."

The taller of the two nodded, "Hongou and Ryuubi, huh? My surname is Kan, my given name is U, and my style name is Unchou." Kazuto looked blankly upon the two… Somehow he finally knew the name of the other one before she even piped up… but that's… why are all these three girls? Is this some twisted eroge where they force famous male historical characters and genderbend them to suit their perverse needs? Well he'll need to hear the next name first before he decides…

Ignoring the look of shock that appeared upon the boy's face, the redhead grinned, "Rinrin's name is Chouhi. Style Name is Yokutoku. It's nice to meet you, onii-chan, onee-chan!"

That settles it. Kazuto sighed as he looked up at the sky. ' _Uncle Byakuran, I swear if you are related to this at all…_ ' He didn't say it out loud, as he didn't want to be a bother. Well… now he knows. This is somehow a parallel world, set during the end of the Han Dynasty, where the characters of, at the very least, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are all girls. Now the only question left is what he was supposed to do here.

"Ano… Kazuto-san, are you alright?" Ryuubi asked in confusion.

"Yeah, just fine." A strained smile appeared on Kazuto's face. He turned towards both Kan'u and Chouhi, "And, please, Kazuto is fine. All my friends call me that."

"… eh? You mean Kazuto is your True Name?" Ryuubi looked surprised. "That means… You entrusted your true name to us so easily?" Both Chouhi and Kan'u looked surprised as well. What's wrong? Granted he has always been a bit too trusting… but letting people call him by his given name… he's never made a big deal about letting others call him by that name. He didn't have a Style Name, so they can't call him by that either, so…

"Well, none of you seem like bad people, so it should be fine…" Kazuto shrugged. "Although… if it bothers you that much, I guess you could keep calling me as you prefer…"

"N-no, it's not that we don't want to call you by your true name, but… why would you just entrust it to us so easily?"

"… Something tells me that I can trust you guys… I guess?" Kazuto shrugged easily, still confused by this turn of events.

"… Rinrin is surprised…" Chouhi said, amazed, "You think you can trust Rinrin and Aisha so easily? Well then it's decided!" Chouhi grinned, "Rinrin will entrust her true name to you as well! After all, it's only fair. Rinrin's true name is Rinrin. Feel free to call Rinrin that! Oh and same goes to the Onee-chan over there."

"And you can all call me Touka as well, if you don't mind…" Ryuubi smiled.

"… I see… I suppose it should be fine to entrust my true name as well. Aisha is my true name." Kan'u nodded. True name… as in, their actual names...? He really should ask for confirmation, but it seemed as if this was some very important ritual. So in this world (he will refuse to believe this is the actual history), everyone has three, sometimes four, names. A surname, a given name, sometimes a style name, and a supposed true name which is reserved to close friends. He should correct this misunderstanding though… it will be better in the long run.

"Can you explain what it means to use each other's True Names?" Kazuto asked. The other three looked surprised at his declaration. "I suppose I should explain. In my country, only friends and close family call each other by only our given names. In fact, I know of close friends who still can't call each other by given names because they're so used to calling each other by surnames." Like him towards Oikawa.

"I… is that so?" Touka asked confused, "So to you, your given name serves as your true name… Well, it's the same for us here, except, anyone can call you by your given name. Others call us by our style names, but our true name is a name we only allow close friends and family to call us by."

Aisha nodded, "But that still means you permitted us to call you by the equivalent of a true name. So it's only fair we share our own to you."

"It's still perfectly fine and acceptable to call me by my full name, though." Kazuto shrugged. "It's just the given name on its own that has the implication of being overly familiar."

"Where exactly did you come from, oniichan?" Rinrin asked.

"Hmmm… the country across the sea to the east, I suppose…" Kazuto shrugged, looking at the sky slightly and pointing to what he assumed was east.

"So you're a trader of some sort?" Aisha asked.

"Student." Kazuto replied.

"So a scholar, huh… But you decided to learn the sword? Wait, where's your sword?" Kazuto looked blankly back. He supposed that Aisha and the rest hadn't been paying enough attention to notice him returning his Shigure Kintoki into its storage box, so he simply tapped the box on his side.

"This box can hold my sword to free up my hands because, as you can see, I don't really have much place to place my sword on."

"Wow, that small box can hold that weird sword?" Rinrin said, amazed. "Do you think Rinrin can have one? Rinrin likes carrying the Viper Spear but it's a bit too big." She swung her spear almost carelessly. Touka and Kazuto recoiled, the former more than the latter. "Don't worry; Rinrin won't hit you." Rinrin said confidently, "Rinrin's the best when it comes to spears." And something tells him that the girl wasn't lying in the slightest.

"Sorry, don't know how to make them." Kazuto shrugged. Shigure Kintoki ver. Bokken wasn't something he had normally. In fact, it's not really like the actual Shigure Kintoki that Yamamoto Takeshi uses. Reborn had it made for him as a gift for surviving his training for so long. The box contains a bokken that can become a katana, which he calls Shigure Kintoki ver Bokken in honor of his learning of the Shigure Souen Ryu style. But in reality, it is a simple bokken that Kazuto can will into a katana if needed. It didn't have the same functionality as the actual Shigure Kintoki that only switches when using a Shigure Souen Ryu style. Kazuto laughed slightly at the memory of mastering the switch between sword and bokken. And then he felt his stomach growl, "Also, I'm getting hungry." Kazuto replied sheepishly.

Touka gasped, "Oh, right! Let's go to my home so that I could properly thank you." Touka then turned to the other two. "You are welcome to join us."

"I suppose it won't hurt…"

"Rinrin doesn't mind either!"

And so, with Touka leading the way, the four companions started their walk.

"Umm… oniichan, you never did say what you're doing here." Rinrin pointed out.

"Whose fault exactly is that, Rinrin?" Aisha sighed.

"Well, I don't know really…" Kazuto replied. "I just… suddenly found myself in the middle of these lands."

"You mean you don't even know why you are here, Kazuto-kun?" Touka asked, confused. It seems that Touka has swapped the honorific from san to kun… He felt slightly happy about this. After all, what boy wouldn't appreciate a cute girl calling him so familiarly?

"Well, yeah. One moment, I'm at my… home," technically true, since school is technically referred to as second home aside from home. "fighting off a thief. Next I find myself waking up to see a cute girl in the middle of nowhere."

"C-cute?" Touka stumbled a bit before fixing her posture, avoiding looking behind her, "Well… I just found you sleeping on the ground…"

"Huh? How did you find me then?" Kazuto asked, confused. "I mean, it's a pretty big field, but there doesn't seem to be a village anywhere close enough. And, to be honest, you don't look the wanderer [type]."

"[Type]?" Rinrin asked, confused.

… Dammit, using English loan words won't help here then. "I meant, Touka doesn't look built for wandering around freely."

"Puuu… what exactly does that mean, Kazuto-kun?"

"Your clothes are too clean, your hair is too neat, and you seemed pretty disturbed when we were fighting those bandits." Kazuto replied, "From my guess, that was your first run-in with bandits. Most wanderers have, at least a few times, run across a group of bandits. Back to how you found me."

Touka huffed for a bit before replying, "I saw a strange star fall from the sky and towards here. And I felt a strange pull towards it… So, I thought destiny was asking me to come towards here. But, while I was looking for the fallen star, I found you."

"Well… destiny… huh?"

"It's the same for Rinrin and Aisha!" Rinrin chirped up. "We came here because of a prophecy about… Aisha…?" She seemed somewhat confused.

Aisha sighed and recited:

" _From above, wreathed in sky's flame,  
comes a messenger from the heavens.  
Together with the Imperial Descendant,  
he will gather his guardians  
and bring peace to these warring lands._"

Kazuto almost recoiled at the prophecy, "… Wait, sky's flame? Messenger from the heavens? Bring peace? Who made this prophecy?"

"The great Fortune Teller Kanrou, did." Aisha replied, "And when we saw the falling flame from the sky we thought it was the coming of the heavenly messenger."

'Sky's flame… is it referring to my Flames of the Sky?' Kazuto wondered. So this was what the story was going to be about huh…

"Oh we're here. Mother, I'm home." A woman, probably old enough to be his mother, came out the door to greet the four.

"Touka, welcome home." The woman inside greeted, and Kazuto felt a strange feeling from the mother. "And you brought guests, I see."

"Yes. This is Hongou Kazuto… but don't call him by Kazuto, since that's his true name…" Touka introduced, "This is Kan'u, and Chouhi."

"It's an honor to meet Touka's mother." Kazuto bowed, before quickly standing up.

"He calls you by your true name, Touka?" The woman said, amused, much to the embarrassment of Touka, "Come in, come in. Although this place is rather small, please sit within our walls for the time being."

"We thank you for your hospitality." Aisha bowed before all four of them entered the house.

* * *

-()-

"So all four of you acknowledged each other then?"

"Yes, ma'am." Aisha bowed. "I am Kan'u Unchou, and this is my companion."

"Chouhi Yokutoku." Rinrin nodded.

Touka's mother nodded, "And what brings you two in these parts?"

"Rinrin and I are travelers who are seeking the Heavenly Messenger and Imperial Descendant."

"You seek them for what reason?" The mother asked sharply, her eyes flitting towards Touka before turning back to the other two girls in the room.

"We received a prophecy that stated that a Heavenly Messenger will arrive and, together with the Imperial Descendant, will be the ones to bring peace upon our lands. We seek them so that we can help them on their quest."

"Oh dear me… Such a troubled road you two pursue." The mother nodded. She turned meaningfully at Touka. Touka froze slightly, and her mouth was widened slightly, but she simply shook her head as well.

Aisha and Rinrin nodded. "Ano, Touka-neechan," Rinrin began, "Do you know anything about it?"

"Sorry, Rinrin, Aisha…" Touka shook her head, "I don't really know much about a Heavenly Messenger… but if I do find that person, I promise that I'd tell you as soon as I could."

"Well, we never once believed that this would be easy." Aisha sighed. "I suppose we should be on our way. Sorry for the intrusion."

"Aren't you going to eat first before leaving?" Touka's mother called, causing four growling stomachs to remind their owners that they haven't eaten in a while. Aisha embarrassedly looked up and nodded slightly.

"True!" Rinrin shamelessly replied. "We'll eat before we leave."

And with that, four friends smiled. An amicable atmosphere formed with them. Kazuto smiled, as the five of them shared a meal, although it was slightly awkward for him to be the only male on the table.

* * *

-()-

Rinrin and Aisha soon left, Touka escorting them (also to sell the shoes and mats that she hasn't begun selling yet), at least until the nearest town. Kazuto looked at Touka's mother and bowed.

"So what are your plans, Hongou?" Touka's mother asked. "Are you going to leave?"

"In all honesty, I'd like to stay for a while." Kazuto replied, surprising the mother. "I don't exactly have any other place to go right now, so staying with people I know like Touka-chan is in my best interests." Kazuto looked at her and nodded, "I won't be a freeloader though. I think I can help around the house in case you need it."

"You can help us make and sell the shoes and mats we make." Touka's mother responded with a kindly smile. "But I'm sure there are some things you'd like to do first before you start helping." Kazuto nodded as he looked at the bag.

"Yeah, I need to see what I have." Kazuto nodded. He did plan to do that anyway.

* * *

-()-

He found an out of the way kind of place outside the house. There should be no one nearby to see him, so he might as well start his inventory check. He started with searching his pockets.

His cellphone is there. But, just as expected, there is no signal to be found. It'll be useful for the apps in it though, like his dictionary and such, but he won't be communicating with anyone with it anytime soon. The camera would be nice to use to take a few memories with him, but he'll have to take the pictures himself as no one in the area knows how to use the thing (unless he teaches them). He tested the camera out by taking a picture of Touka's home. Brilliant. The storage space on the thing is nothing to scoff at either, so he'll be good for a good long time. Unfortunately he doesn't have a Three Kingdoms e-book in the thing, so he can't cross reference any events. He'll have to go by memory.

Returning to his pockets, he has a couple of ballpoint pens in there, for some reason. Must've forgotten to empty his pockets when he left with Reborn.

What else could be in his pockets… He's got his Dying Will Pills… That should last him a while… He just hoped he didn't need to go Hyper Dying Will Mode too often.

Next he checked his box belt, and already he could see various things that would be immediately useful in a fight. He has six boxes on his belt, three placed on either side of his pants.

The one above his left pocket holds his Shigure Kintoki. It was placed there mostly to imitate the location of a katana's sheath.

To his direct left is a box for his flame boots… which allows him to hover about if necessary. His flame is still too weak (according to Reborn) to use it properly for flight, but it's generally useful to keep around.

Next to it is his Airbike with retractable wheels, which is fueled by Fiamma Voltage (i.e. Dying Will Flames). This might be useful if he wants to bring people around, although he'll have to explain that it's some form of a wagon-slash-horse? Eh, he'll get there when he gets there. He laughed slightly before looking back at his things.

Now, on his right side, is the storage box for his contacts and earpiece. They should've automatically returned into the storage box as soon as he lost consciousness, but it's safe to check. Yup, it's there.

To his direct right, is a box with a standard Vongola issue First Aid Kit. Neat. It should have various healing materials based off the properties of either Sun flames or Rain flames, depending on circumstance.

The sixth and last box, positioned just above his right pocket, however, made him smile, softly, before he tried to once more put a lit ring onto the slot. Nothing happened, and Kazuto simply sighed. It was his Middle School Graduation Gift given by his father, and inside is his very own Box Animal. Unfortunately, he has yet to be able to open it, for the entire time since he received it. Shaking his head and just giving up. He didn't know what the conditions necessary to open the box. The box itself has a peculiar design. It was Orange, as most Sky Boxes are, but surrounding the slot are seven clear domes. When he asked Reborn about how to open the box, his tutor simply told him that he doesn't need his Box Animal if he would only just start choosing his Guardians. And so, he's just stuck not knowing what the hell it is.

And that's about it for his boxes.

Now what did Reborn pack into his bag? He opened his drawstring bag, to check it out. What did his sadistic mentor want to do when he gave Kazuto the bag?

He has a Solar Charger for his phone… well, that makes sense. Fiamma Voltage Chargers are meant for those with strong flames after all, and Reborn never once believed that he had a powerful flame due to his quote 'lackluster resolution'.

He has a set of casual and sleepwear. That's disturbing. Clearly, whatever Reborn wanted to do, it needed him to spend quite a bit of time away from society… They weren't in a box, and were simply folded and put in neatly. He carefully returned them in the bag.

He looked at yet another box and then saw the label. Is this… a suit? He didn't want to open it, but it's clearly a suit. Specifically, Vongola's specially made suit, weaved with threads mixed with Lightning Flames to keep it as protective as a steel shield, a few Sun Flames designed to heal him if the wearer gets injured. If it is damaged, it can be fixed by refilling the damaged part by his flame. Apparently, this was inspired by a Battle that his father had. He didn't know against who, but knew that Uncle Byakuran was involved. It's meant to be both battle-worthy and remain as elegant as much as possible. Well… it's a step up from his school uniform in terms of defense, all considering.

Sheesh, Reborn; why did he feel the need to pack him a suit? There's no reason for him to have a suit, if Reborn's going to take him on a training trip. The only event in the future he had expected to wear one is when he goes to Italy for Christmas… He still needs to sort through the rest of his stuff and he's already getting a headache. Right, inventory first, analyze after.

He also had a blank, waterproofed notebook, as well as a blank, also waterproofed binder. Well, they'll be handy if he ever needed it. He'll keep the notebook as some sort of diary or something. Although, that's probably there to force him to learn to write properly in the various languages that he's being taught.

A carton of soap, shampoo, conditioner, a toothbrush, and a tube of toothpaste, and a towel. Basic things, but disturbed him regardless.

Now, the last two boxes were… special. First they weren't Flame Boxes that uses some obscure science to store things away. They looked more like boxes you'd keep your jewelry in. He took a peek and saw that they were the two sets of rings that Reborn said he put in. A full set for all seven flames, and one set with only the non-Sky rings, with an empty slot that seems to indicate that his current sky ring came from this set. He stuffed the two ring boxes away and sighed. Well… if any bandit sees him with these, well… he'll just have to keep them out of the way, huh?

Analyzing what Reborn packed… Dammit, Reborn probably planned to go on some demented camping trip with him that winter break and force him to live somewhere else for a while until he needed to go to Italy for Christmas. Unless of course, the forest (it's the first location he can think of that these things could be useful), or wherever the hell he would be, is at Italy. The suit was probably for when he finally has to go back to meet his father, so Reborn didn't plan to let him go back home to change. And it seems Reborn hoped that they might come across a few people who would serve as good Guardians…

As soon as his thoughts drifted to the idea, Kazuto immediately thought of Touka, Aisha, and Rinrin, before shaking his head slightly. Would they really become Guardians for him? The three were famous figures, regardless of their gender… The prophecy thing mentioned him gathering guardians but… he's hesitant. Should he really involve them? Well, if they want to be his Guardians and they grow close enough that they will stand alongside him… then it's fine.

Well, time to learn how to make shoes and mats from Ryuubi's mother.

* * *

-()-

"… this is difficult." Kazuto looked at the mess he somehow spectacularly made, "… you do this every day?"

"Maybe you should just help Touka sell them instead of helping make them." Touka's mother laughed, clearly not bothered. "You don't seem to have any talent for this."

"… Never been good with arts and crafts." Kazuto sighed, "More of a [sports] guy."

"Su-ports?" The mother asked.

"Physical activity." Kazuto shrugged, "At any rate, I'm good at moving my body around more than just my hands."

"I see. That makes sense." She nodded. "Touka should be coming home soon."

"Oh, really?" Kazuto looked up at the sky. "Huh, would you look at that. Does she usually come home at this time?"

"Well, I didn't tell her to sell more than just a few, so it should be fine." The mother smiled. A strange quiet fell upon the two, save for the sound of the mother making her wares. "Hongou-sama."

"Huh?" Kazuto blinked at the sudden change of tone. "You can call me Kazuto as well, if you'd like…"

But, as though, she didn't hear him, Touka's mother continued, "What do you know of my daughter?"

Kazuto was surprised by the question, and responded simply: "She's a very nice girl…"

Touka's mother just sharply looked at him. "Hongou-sama, I know that you are the Heavenly Messenger that the prophecy that those two children stated." Kazuto was surprised at this declaration, but Touka's mother continued on, "How did I know? Nothing more than mere speculation." The mother dismissed it easily, "But it is truth that my daughter rushed out to seek a star that has fallen from the sky this morning. And upon her return, she brought three friends, two who were actually seeking the Heavenly Messenger who will be aided by a Descendant of Imperial Royalty. Is it strange that I thought the boy who came with them with strange customs is the Messenger?"

"… I see. Ryuubi is the descendant of an emperor, after all." Kazuto nodded.

"… So you also knew my child's heritage… Yes, my daughter is the descendant of Ryuushou;" The mother nodded with a small smile, "the sword on her side is her only heirloom left from that time." It was as though she was finally confirming something in her mind as she looked back at him. "I might've been more skeptical of the prophecy had it not been for you. But… I might ask you. My daughter is not the only descendant. There are certainly plenty others. Look no further than Rakuyou and you will find one sitting upon its throne. So why my child?"

"… I don't know. I am not lying as to say that the first time I arrived upon these lands, the first face I saw was Touka's." Kazuto softly smiled. "And I'm not all too sure about this Heavenly Messenger business."

"So you're saying you are not the one in the Prophecy those two bore?"

"… no. I'm sure that I'm it." Kazuto sighed, "Too many things match up. The Sky Flame," he lit his ring to show it to the woman, who jumped up slightly in response, before he let the flame dissipate, "the Imperial Descendant, Ryuubi, and the guardians thing. Once, it's luck. Twice, it's coincidence. Thrice, it's a pattern."

"… I see, thank you… I am certain that my Touka will definitely become someone who is destined for greatness, especially now that she will bear that prophecy on her shoulders. I raised her to be someone fitting as a Descendant of Imperial Royalty. But I still worry; especially when she decided not to reveal her heritage to those two." The mother smiled softly, "So Messenger of Heaven, what do you know of my child's future?"

Kazuto pondered on this, before nodding. "Do you promise not to tell anyone of what I am to tell you?" At the nod of the mother, Kazuto continued, "… I don't know what would be different because of my presence, but… to my knowledge, the person known as Ryuubi Gentoku becomes the Hero of Peace, a hero in these troubled times, and with the help of Kan'u and Chouhi and various other warlords, founds one of the Three Kingdoms that ruled the country, thereby the era being called the Three Kingdoms Era."

"So that is what she will become?" The mother carefully responded, which Kazuto noted.

"I don't know if she'll become so now that I've affected this timeline by my presence, but…" Kazuto smiled, "… that's not what you really wanted to know, wasn't it? You do not care whether she becomes great or not." The mother recoiled slightly but Kazuto simply chuckled, "You are a mother, and what you care about is her safety, more than her future." Kazuto then raised his ring finger and ignited the ring. "Well, then, I will swear to you. I'll protect Touka as much as I could. She WILL be safe." Such power was forced into that oath that his ring's flame burst brightly before returning to its flickering state.

"… Thank you." The mother nodded. "Now, let us prepare for dinner. I assume you at least can use that flame to burn firewood?"

"Sometimes I think it's the only thing the thing's good for." Kazuto remarked.

* * *

-()-

When Touka arrived back home, she half-expected Kazuto to not have fulfilled anything but the very basics in mat and shoemaking. After all, it's not easy to just pick up a craft and do it in a single afternoon. She wasn't disappointed in the slightest. In fact, she was more disappointed that he did so horribly. On the other hand, she had spent quite a bit of time teasing the boy, who simply sighed and responded that he's been through this with her mother.

Amiable chatter about his lessons, surprising Touka just how learned Kazuto actually is. So much small tidbits of information like what the body is made of, how it functions, ways to prevent getting sick… small things that were a mystery to them was spoken by Kazuto as if common sense. The knowledge that his teachers give him is nothing to scoff at.

Eventually they finished their meal and they started cleaning up, Kazuto said: "So where am I going to sleep?"

"We could lay out another mat for you to sleep on, if you'd like…"

"I don't think I should just easily sleep in the same place as a girl…" Kazuto replied quickly, a bit too fast as a blush on his face appeared. "I'm glad you trust me but, I'm sure that both of you will feel safer if this stranger just sleeps elsewhere."

"Nonsense." The mother dismissed, Touka nodding away alongside her. "You can sleep inside where it's warm. You did mention that sleeping out in the cold can get you sick as well, you know?"

"… Fine, I can see that I'm outnumbered." Kazuto sighed, as he pulled his bag. "I'll be intruding for a bit longer. Do you need me to exit the house so that you can change to your sleepwear?"

Touka blushed before nodding quickly, "Uh, yes please!"

Kazuto nodded, and retreated from the room. He'll have to change clothes as well anyway.

* * *

-()-

It was pretty awkward sleeping next to a girl, in his sleepwear. It was obviously completely innocent what with the girl's mother being right there, but it was still nerve-wracking to Kazuto.

"Neh, Kazuto-kun…"

"What is it, Touka-chan?"

"… Can you tell me more about… your land? I'd like to know more…"

"I can't promise you'd like what you hear." Kazuto replied. "It's not exactly paradise."

"But you'll tell me about it?"

"Maybe on occasion." Kazuto nodded. "… Good night, Touka-chan."

The radiant smile the girl gave back, lit by the moonlit night, was enough for Kazuto to feel his heart race. Dammit, calm down. And, as he struggled with his own body's physiological response, he almost missed the girl's response: "Good night, Kazuto-kun."

* * *

-()-

In a different place, in a bandit hideout nearby, somewhere, a tall man, a midget, and a fat man walked towards what appears to be a congregation of bandits. Scarves of yellow are wrapped around their heads, and they all looked almost manic in their expression. The three quickly decided to move in, trying to listen in to those who are deciding what's going on.

They were at the very least able to hear this much: "Men. In a few days, we will strike! Take from those who would go against us! Begin preparing yourselves." Looks like… soon, there will be another raid. Well, the trio supposed that it would be a good way to vent their anger for losing to that bastard in shiny clothes.

"The blue sky has perished! Let the yellow sky rise!" With that cry, they roared it to the heavens, in defiance to its will. But even with such open defiance, even with fangs bared against it, the sky didn't even flinch. It simply continued to exist, accepting everything. It knew that soon enough, the young sky's flame will burn brightly, and end the chaos that they so firmly wish to sow.

* * *

 **Chapter End**

* * *

Sorry for the infodump. I'd split this chapter in half, but then too little would happen in a single chapter. Again, no Beta Reader. So any errors are simply those that I missed myself.

Oh, question: Which title do you prefer? A) Sky of the Three Kingdoms or B) Il Cielo dei Tre Regni. They should mean the same, if Google Translate can be trusted with at least Italian. As an added bonus, Google Translate translates Cielo as both Sky and Heaven. Which is strangely fitting.


	3. Where Resolution Begins

**Il Cielo dei Tre Regni  
** by Lunar Wave

Disclaimer: This story borrows the setting and characters of the Koihime†Musou series and borrows multiple elements from Katekyo Hitman Reborn. I own neither series.

* * *

 **Where Resolution Begins**

* * *

 _"There will be times you will have to fight. While running away is a valid tactic, that option will not always be available to you."_

 _"Then, how should I fight?"_

 _"Don't show mercy." Reborn bluntly replied. "Showing mercy is only when you are stronger than your opponent. If your opponent surpasses you in all ways, ensure your own victory before you ensure your foe's life."_

 _"So, what you are saying is…"_

 _"Kill, if that's what it takes for you to survive."_

 _"… Even my father, when he was weaker, didn't kill Uncle Mukuro when he had the option. He didn't kill Uncle Xanxus during their Ring Conflict, even though he could have, and was well within his rights. He didn't kill Uncle Enma, even when the Shimon Boss betrayed him. I will not kill unless absolutely necessary."_

 _"… That's just a revision of my statement."_

 _"No. You said that I should 'Kill, if I have to do so to survive.' I said, 'Kill, only when I have no other choice.'_

 _"How would you know when you have no other choice?" Reborn asked. "The world isn't so clear cut that you always have the option not to kill."_

 _"I have Hyper Intuition."_

 _Reborn looked at him with a neutral expression, "You are more your father's son than I thought. You are just as soft as he is."_

 _"I don't see you complaining."_

 _"No, no, of course not." Reborn grinned, "Well, if you are so insistent on being able to show that much mercy, then you should become strong. Stronger than anyone you could possibly face. Because only the strong have the right to show mercy."_

 _"If that's what it takes."_

Strength has never been a want of Sawada Kazuto. It has been defined so thoroughly as a simple need. He needs strength if he wants the ability to show others mercy. So he trained. He trained hard. He sought out Yamamoto Tsuyoshi for his sword style; he sought out his father for instructions on the Zero Point Breakthrough; and he went out of his way to master the Dying Will Mode as much as he could, all for the sake of becoming strong enough that he won't need to think twice about showing mercy. He never did manage to become as strong as he needed to become though, but he at least hoped that his strength is enough to protect those that he cared about.

* * *

-()-

It's been a few days since Kazuto had come to this world. Neither Aisha nor Rinrin has showed up again. For the most part, Kazuto has managed to integrate himself rather well into the lives of both Touka and her mother. Kazuto mostly just helped Touka and her mother carry the mats and shoes to sell to passing merchants who will sell them elsewhere. But that day, he's having a hard time believing what he was seeing.

"How on earth are we going to carry all those mats and shoes all the way to the next town?" Kazuto exclaimed upon seeing the amount. "That looks about a third the size of the boulders my teacher throws at me! When did you make them all!? I only helped make like, fifteen or so!" Oh, and yeah, he managed to finally make a mat. Shoes are still beyond him though.

"… Why does your teacher throw boulders at you?" Touka asked worriedly. "And thrice the size of this?" To her, the amount was by no means big, but it certainly wasn't small.

"The smaller ones are." Kazuto mentioned offhandedly, "They're for training." Kazuto responded easily, as though it's not a big deal. "or Torture. Depends on what he felt like that day. Oh, and just so we're clear, said Teacher isn't involved in my actual academics. He's more of a personal tutor than anything." Except when he decides to make the History Teacher sick and replace him that day, but that's life. "It's supposed to make me a strong leader of men." And he will up and down refuse to tell them that he is of the mafia. He can probably word it differently, but that won't change that it is a criminal syndicate. His father can only do so much.

"Who hired him? Your parents?" Touka asked.

"He hired himself. My father can't stop him even if he wanted to." Kazuto responded immediately, before realizing something off. "Wait, that's not the point! Exactly how are we carrying all that?"

The mother simply smiled in amusement, "You sure have a habit of complaining a lot, Hongou-san."

"Let me complain a bit more; I'll feel better afterwards." Kazuto answered easily, even as he freaked out. "Okay, so am I supposed to carry that on my back the entire way?"

"Actually, we're just going to rent a horse from a neighbor." Touka laughed. "We also only need to carry as much as we could, and we'll leave the rest for next time. We just made this much so we don't have to always be constantly making mats. Mother deserves a break every so often."

"And how much is as much as we can carry?" Kazuto asked, "And don't you own your own horse for this sort of thing?"

"Horses are a little bit too expensive for us poor peasants." Touka winced. "I mean, we could buy one if we have to, but actually taking care of it with only the two of us is…" Yeah… That's true. While a horse would be very useful and valuable, a horse requires more attention than a two-person home can take. Maybe if they had servants or just a few more people that could take care of it, it would be fine but…

"… By the way, maybe we can just not borrow that horse?" Kazuto pondered, as he pulled a box from his belt. "I have an [airbike] we can use if we need to…"

"Eiya-Baiku…?" Close enough. He's not particularly interested in correcting her.

"Think of it as a carriage, except it's the size of a horse, and can move without a horse pulling it." Kazuto then lit his ring.

"Is… it safe?" Touka's mother asked, with a slightly worried expression.

"About as safe as riding a horse." Kazuto easily responded. And then some, he added in his mind. After all, he'll be doing the steering for the most part.

"Well, then, I suppose I can take you up on that offer." Touka nodded.

Kazuto nodded back and put the ring's flame onto the Box's Slot. Well, time to see if he can still ride the thing properly, even when the road isn't concrete… This isn't gonna go well, is it?

* * *

-()-

Kan'u Unchou and Chouhi Yokutoku were taking a near leisurely stroll that morning. They are still walking around the Yuushuu area, still around the same place they met Touka and Kazuto, still searching. It's been three days. Three days since they saw the star fall. And they still haven't found the Heavenly Messenger.

"Hey, aneja, is that prophecy real?" Rinrin asked, as they walked. "We've been around here so many times, and we still haven't found that Heavenly Messenger. That person might be headed to Rakuyo already to get the Imperial Descendant."

"Is Kanrou's prediction off?" Aisha sighed. "To think that we've been around this place so many times and yet we still haven't found them… You'd think the Heavenly Messenger would be easy to spot…" Aisha sighed again, but not slowing down any, as she walked the road.

"Yeah! Probably has really sparkly clothes." Rinrin replied. "Like Kazuto-niichan!" Aisha halted at that.

"… What did you say, Rinrin?" Was it always that simple? Was it seriously that easy? Did she just overthink this way too much that the obvious just flew over her head?

Rinrin looked at her confused, "Rinrin just thought that if the Heavenly Messenger did come, they'll have sparkly clothes like Kazu… OH!" Rinrin exclaimed, connecting the dots before frowning, "But why didn't he say anything?"

"It might be a test to see if we'll recognize him!" Aisha moaned. "And we failed spectacularly! Let's go back and…"

"Going back is fine, but do you really think oniichan would still be with Touka-neechan?"

Aisha frowned. Yeah, if Kazuto was the Heavenly Messenger, he should've already left to search for the Imperial Descendant and his guardians. So that means he should be wandering as well. They missed their chance! "It's better than nothing. Maybe Touka has an idea where he went. Let's go!" Aisha commanded as she turned on the spot, only to spot a great plume of black smoke in the distance… "Rinrin… what's going on there?"

"There should be a city in that direction, right?" Rinrin frowned. "Rinrin will go ahead!" And the young child ran as quickly as she could.

"Wait, Rinrin!" Aisha called, also speeding up as she grasped her Green Dragon Crescent Blade in her hands. She feared the worst. But if the worst has yet to pass… She hoped that she would be able to help.

* * *

-()-

'Did Liu Bei have this kind of personality?' Kazuto couldn't help but wonder every time he learned something new about Touka, and this time was no exception. As Kazuto and Touka sped about just around Touka's county, selling mats and sandals to whoever wants to buy (mostly merchants who will sell it on their own), the boy found out something about Touka: Touka really liked going at high speeds. Either that or she enjoys horse-riding a lot. Every time they had to slow down to stop by a town, Touka seemed a bit let down but still did her best to sell their wares, but when they started up again, she was very excited.

Kazuto had told her not to speak too much, so that he won't get too distracted, so she was at least remarkably quiet. Her words won't really distract him all that much… Ultimately, what truly distracted him more was her rather big breasts pressing up against his back as she hugged him from behind. Admittedly, when Kazuto offered to give Touka a ride, he definitely did not think about the consequences. In fact, it was a very innocent offer. Unfortunately, the distraction was very much unwelcome, and he REALLY has to focus on being on the road. The only saving grace is that, since he was riding an airbike, he won't be encountering too many bumps on the road. He doesn't need more distractions. But, at the same time, the propulsion system the airbike had kicked up a lot of dust, and there was a clear dust trail behind them. Kazuto silently apologized to anyone who might be behind him.

The girl only spoke when needing to tell Kazuto to prepare to go to the right or left. Her grip around his stomach became laxer as time went on, and it was the occasional moments that she spoke that told him that she was still awake.

But this feeling of peace didn't last forever as Kazuto spotted a strange dark smoke rising in the distance. He grimaces slightly at the sight. Part of him wanted to see what was going on. The other part of him wants to be as far from it as possible, especially with Touka there on his side.

"Kazuto-kun… what's going on over there?" Apparently, Touka saw the smoke pillar too.

"… Do you want to find out?" Kazuto asked, almost certain of Touka's answer. If he cannot ignore it, he doubted that the Hero of Peace would be capable of the same feat. Not without knowing what exactly was going on.

"Yes." And the affirmation was heard. Kazuto nodded, revving up to head straight for the smoking town. Their task to sell mats and shoes forgotten, the two rushes to the smoking village.

* * *

-()-

The first to arrive to the distressed town was Chouhi Yokutoku. The girl glared at the chaos, and jumped to the highest place she can manage to stand upon.

"Oy! Bandits!" Chouhi called out, "Stop picking on people who can't fight back! This Enhito Chouhi shall be your opponent!" And with that she jumped forward, her spear swinging and taking down the first set of bandits she came across. The bandits looked upon the girl, and rushed forward to avenge their fallen comrades, but they too quickly fell prey to the might of the one behind the swing of the spear. "Weaklings and cowards who could only fight when their opponents can't!"

Chouhi roared as she charged. She needs to destroy these bandits… so that no one would end up like her. Chouhi roared, like the tiger that she dresses herself as and struck down those who dared stand against her. She mowed down all those in her way, without even giving them a second glance, as she swung her great spear as though it was a mere toy. Chouhi Yokutoku destroyed them with her sheer strength and she would only grow fiercer as the battle progressed.

* * *

-()-

Next to arrive is Kan'u Unchou. Upon seeing the chaos the younger girl had accomplished on one end of the town, she quickly set off to another part of the town where the redhead would not arrive at until at least much later. Confident that Rinrin will not fall so easily, she took a stance.

"I am Kan'u Unchou! Those who seek death, come forth!" Kan'u roared. "Those who continue to pillage this village shall meet their end by my Green Dragon Crescent Blade! Now, you have two choices! Either you face me and die with some shred of honor, or die like cowards, cut down as you run! Now, choose your fate!" Kan'u roared and jumped into the midst of her enemies.

She danced around the men, and like a living embodiment of death and beauty, cut down all those who stood against her. She moved swiftly upon these blood-stained streets, erasing those that would seek to harm her and the people who live there. Their only consolation is that they will be given the quickest possible death. That is the only mercy Kan'u was willing to give these scoundrels who would take others' lives for their own selfish reasons.

* * *

-()-

Third to arrive, much later than either Chouhi Yokutoku and Kan'u Unchou, is Sawada Kazuto. In his hand was Shigure Kintoki in its wooden sword form. Briefly wondering if he should go Hyper Dying Will Mode, he dismissed it as he only wanted to save people, and he'd rather not people get too scared by seeing a person with a strange fire burning on his forehead. So he avoided it and simply sped up his running. Upon seeing the chaos that had been done upon the town, he muttered:

"Termografia." His contacts, which he opened the box of whilst running, quickly turned on its Thermal Imaging filter. He quickly spotted the shape of a small body, probably a baby, in a nearby house and set off. He quickly jumped into the room that he saw the small body, only to find a dead man and woman in the same room. Horrified slightly, almost feeling as though he would be sick, he silently checked the closet to find the young child. Grimacing, he grabbed the baby and retreated quickly, jumping out the window to run to a safer zone. He started running and suddenly found a bandit just ahead of the path he was taking. The bandit noticed him too.

"Hey I fou-" The bandit tried to call his fellows only to find a sword hilt striking his forehead, knocking the man out.

 _Shigure Souen Ryu 3_ _rd_ _Form Offensive, Yarazu no Ame._ The only one of the forms Kazuto learned that was ranged in nature, and can be used even if he was carrying a baby in his hands. Kicking his own Shigure Kintoki, in a last ditch resort. He quickly picked up the sword as he ran past the fallen man.

He spotted a family hiding away in one of the houses and jumped inside. He soon found himself face to face with a man with a sword, standing in front of his family. A few bandits were lying down on the floor, clearly dead.

"Do not worry; I am not here to hurt you. I came to fend off the bandits." They were still visibly tense, but Kazuto didn't have time to worry about that. "Is anyone of you hurt?" Kazuto asked. The man looked at Kazuto's arms to see him loosely holding his sword in one hand and a baby in the other. He smiled briefly in greeting.

"No." The man replied. "But the bandits are still around, so you should be caref-"

"Hoy, boss, we found another house with people in it." A vaguely familiar voice echoed into the room, but Kazuto didn't have the time for it. Three men, a fat one, a small one, and a normal looking one. Again. Kazuto certainly hoped he wasn't being racist if it turns out these three weren't the same people…

"You again?" Kazuto asked dryly.

"You!" the midget growled quickly jumping into the house, "So you were here, huh? Well, looks like we're about to get some revenge then!" Kazuto grimaced as he handed the child to the mother before grasping his Shigure Kintoki. He rushed forward, instinctively coating his sword in his Sky Flames.

 _Shigure Souen Ryu 8_ _th_ _Form Offensive, Shinotsuku Ame_. Using the same skill he used to defeat the three beforehand, he hurtled the midget out the door. "Now scram. I am not in the mood for you three." He coldly told them, before he signaled the family. And with a kinder tone, "Come with me if you want to live." The group quickly abandoned their home only looking slightly mournful at the belongings they might be abandoning for good, and Kazuto led them away to where he saw the other families retreat to.

"You should be safe from here." Kazuto told them. "Please take care of the baby. His parents have been killed by the bandits." The mother nodded mutely, before holding the boy slightly closer. Kazuto smiled and nodded back, "Thank you. I'll go back to see if there are more that I need to save."

"Wait, young boy." The father walked up. "Allow me to come with you. I'll help you on your task."

Kazuto looked at the man, and nodded, knowing that the man was not lying to him. "Let's go, then." The two of them ran back into the battlefield.

The mother looked at the baby before smiling. "A young savior has appeared before us… Don't worry… even if your parents have died, you will live through this danger…"

* * *

-()-

Touka ran after Kazuto. He had simply left her with their stuff, which didn't retreat into the box alongside the bike (the helmets did). But as she watched the chaos happen before her eyes, she decided to just abandon their wares, and could only hope that they'll still be there when she comes back. And on the way as she chased after the boy, she could see it, the utter cruelty of the world. Families were moving past her, running from the chaos. But she herself had to run forward and she soon found a scene that she could barely stomach.

The streets were streaked with blood and bodies. The blood of commoners, spilled by bandits. They didn't need to kill. They just wanted to take. But there are many who wouldn't let them take what they wanted, so they killed them. Merciless and cruel… Children cried for their dead families, mothers cried for their dead children, fathers grieving at failing to protect their kin. It was almost easier to just give in… but… even mercy was not being given to them. They do not understand why the Yellow Turbans are attacking them, but they couldn't help but see the men as existences that are naught but savage animals. However, these animals could slay them with nary a thought. For every bandit they slay, two are slain on their side.

It was hopeless. Almost disastrous. They are mere men who lost their reason to fight back.

But hope had come, in the form of three warriors. One wields a great spear and, despite her childlike size, takes tens of them with a single swing, roaring as fiercely as a tiger. Another wields the Green Dragon Crescent Blade, and dexterously danced in the midst of her foes, slaying them with night but a single swing. And the third is a white-clothed boy, wielding a single edged sword wreathed in flames, rushing forward and sending his opponents scattering. He searched for any survivors and led any that he found to somewhere they could safely begin running.

But Touka, who could only stand, rooted in place as she watched the chaos, could only ask: What about her? What can she do to help these suffering people? She didn't have much training with her sword, only enough to swing and take down those who would try to attack her. So what can she do when faced with this quandary?

"Oh, Touka-chan, you arrived as well, huh?" Kazuto's voice appeared in the midst of the chaos. In Kazuto's arms was a young child who he probably found somewhere. Touka turned to her friend with only the smallest and briefest of smiles before she grimaced once more through the chaos. "Can I leave this girl to you for now?" Touka nodded slightly, accepting the crying girl into her arms.

"… Why is this happening? Why do they need to be so cruel?" Touka sighed, sadly.

"There are many reasons why someone would do something like this. Maybe they thought they needed to do this. Maybe their goals required this to happen… But there are also those who just want to watch the world burn in front of them." Kazuto replied sadly. "Even where I come from, wars start for the most nonsensical of reasons. But… in the end, there will always be those striving for the peace that comes at the end of the fighting… As long as they succeed, then the future would definitely be better." The last sentence seemed to be more to himself than her, but she nodded quietly, "Excuse me, I spy a few bandits that I need to… dissuade… from going any further into that house." Kazuto again rushed forward, flames coating his sword as he sped up. She was idly surprised upon seeing those flames, but she couldn't focus on that. Not as she ran, taking the girl to where she spotted a few families running. She quickly left the girl to them.

But even then, she couldn't help but wonder… How could he confidently step into a battlefield? Touka thought of the boy and found herself wanting. She wanted the boy's willingness to help…

"S-save me!"

And the single voice that she heard is more than enough to get her moving, her own sword drawn. She has spent most of her life not needing to worry about the future, and now she sought peace for the entire country… heh, she really felt strange just thinking about it. But she'll do it. She couldn't turn her back. Turning her back means giving in to this dark cruel reality. Turning away, means to let this world suffer from this wartorn world… Yes… she… finally knew what she wanted to accomplish… Maybe she should tell Kazuto as soon as she could… And find Aisha and Rinrin and apologize for not telling them about her ancestry.

Upon hearing the cry of a child, she marched forward, her own sword in her hand. She quickly, rushed forward between the bandit and the child. She didn't know what the reason the bandit was attacking the child, but she didn't care. With a swing of her blade, the man recoiled away, his sword falling upon the earth.

"Hear me, bandits who prey upon the lives of innocents! I am Ryuubi Gentoku, descendant of Ryuushou, once emperor of this country. You have caused such deep sorrow within those who live upon these lands. Do not dare believe that this travesty will be ignored; for this cruelty you showed these villagers, I, along with the heavens, will strike you down for all the pain and suffering you've caused!"

Strong words from her mouth. Words she never thought she could say, and yet she said it in as much authority as she could muster. And with that, the men around her, who were on the verge of giving up, were invigorated by her words. They picked up any fallen weapons and attacked again. The bandits, upon realizing their own mortality in the face of three strangers, lost most of their own morale and became easy prey to those that they oppressed.

The villagers who remained roared. No more. No more shall they give up. They have four saviors now: one who saved them through sheer strength, another who saved them through her skill, a third who saved them by helping them find refuge, and a final one who saved them by bringing back their courage. They cannot afford to back down anymore.

* * *

-()-

The battle has ended. The four saviors stood as they watched the retreat of any remaining bandits, picked off by hunters who wielded their bows and showered the retreating figures with arrows. They cannot pursue right now, not as they are. Without even an army behind them, rushing in would be too foolhardy.

"Che, cowards till the very end." Rinrin snorted and then she yelled in a loud voice, "YOU'LL NEED AT LEAST A THOUSAND MEN TO BEAT THIS CHOU YOKUTOKU!"

"Rinrin, please don't boast so easily." Aisha chuckled. "I'd rather if you do not fall at all."

"They'll be back, you know." Kazuto pointed out. "They'll gather as many of their friends and come back."

"Then we'll fend them off again." Rinrin shrugged.

"But we cannot risk the village again." Kazuto argued, "Unless we want this village to be destroyed utterly, we need to bring the battlefield away from here."

"Right…" Rinrin sighed. "Wait… Niichan?" Rinrin looked surprised upon seeing the boy in white. Kazuto shrugged at the surprise. He had spotted the two earlier as they fought against the bandits. It's surprising that Rinrin didn't realize that he was there earlier. Aisha herself was also shocked to see the boy there again. Touka soon arrived next to them, with a smile.

"Ah! Rinrin-chan, Aisha-chan! So you two were the other two 'saviors' that people were talking about, huh?" Touka smiled at the fortune to see her two of her newest friends.

"Touka-neechan!" Rinrin looked surprised again. Aisha also was surprised, but not to the same degree. She had been nearby when Touka had made her declaration. That she was the Imperial Descendant that they were looking for. Aisha almost laughed at the irony of missing the obvious. So, not only did she miss the obvious that Kazuto had been the Heavenly Messenger, she also missed that the one that they found alongside him was the Imperial Descendant all along.

"It's nice to see you both once more." Kazuto grinned. "We always seem to meet in the strangest of circumstances, huh?"

"You're right!" Rinrin replied, before pouting at Kazuto, "Also, niichan is cruel! Why didn't you tell us that you were the Heavenly Messenger we were looking for?" Now it was Touka's turn to be surprised.

"Eh? Kazuto-kun is the heavenly messenger?"

"You didn't know, Touka-neechan?" Rinrin asked, surprised.

Kazuto sighed when he was now faced with three questioning looks. "Yeah, I suppose I am the messenger. I wasn't sure at the time, but Touka-chan's mother confirmed it for me."

"Mother did?"

"Well, there are three things about the prophecy that hinted at it. First is that the Heavenly Messenger comes with Sky's Flames…" Kazuto then flexed his hand out and lit the ring on fire. He ignored the surprise and simply continued, "This is, where I came from, called my Dying Will Flame. Specifically, it's the Sky Flame."

"So this is what the prophecy meant by the heavenly messenger being wreathed in sky's flames!" Aisha exclaimed, upon seeing the flame.

"It's pretty." Touka said, mesmerized.

"The second thing that told me that it was likely me was when it mentioned the guardians. My family has a… tradition where the heir has to gather guardians that will serve him once he becomes the head of the family."

"And the third is…" Touka asked quietly.

"When your mother confirmed to me that you are the descendant of Ryuushou…" Kazuto replied. "Your mother had guessed that I was the Heavenly Messenger and told me to… take care of you, guessing that you were the Imperial Descendant that the prophecy mentioned."

"Touka-neechan is the Imperial Descendant as well?" Rinrin exclaimed, "Aisha, they were right in front of us yet we didn't see it!" Aisha nodded mutely, trying to come up with something to reply to this outburst, but Touka spoke first.

"Sorry about not telling you earlier, Aisha-chan, Rinrin-chan." Touka sheepishly said, before turning to Kazuto. "So you and mother had a secret that you didn't bother telling me." Touka pouted. Kazuto sheepishly scratched his head.

"Sorry."

"… It's fine." Touka smiled briefly, before turning around. "It seems that the bandits won't be coming back any time soon… so shouldn't we help the villagers?" Touka asked, turning to the still smoking village.

"But… but… I'm hungry!" Rinrin complained slightly, but nodded her assent, "But okay. Let's help the villagers."

"Don't worry; we'll take care of it for now." A man approached them. "Please, go have some food first. Our town can manage itself. And I'm sure our saviors would prefer to celebrate over good food."

"Thank you for your offer, good sir." Aisha nodded, "But, I'd at least like to help out, at least until nightfall."

"Rinrin will too." Rinrin nodded, "I'll just buy some food if I get hungry or something."

"I suppose I can stave off my hunger for a few more hours." Kazuto shrugged.

"Yes… we'll help." Touka nodded, spying a crying woman on the wayside. "I think I could at least help the healers…"

"Thank you so much." The man bowed, "We are very grateful for your kindness. Truly you are our saviors."

"Let's just be thankful that the bandits' first priority is stealing things." Kazuto grunted. "From what I could tell, only some of the men and quite a few women who fought back died in this tragedy." And then he added quickly, "While I'm not happy about the people who died, it's good to know that most of the villagers are alive."

"True." A man nodded, before looking back at the village, "But we'll never forgive those Yellow Turbans for this."

"I don't expect you to." Kazuto nodded. "In fact, I am all for being rid of them as soon as possible. But we'll need an army for that." Kazuto sighed, "And last I checked, there's barely enough able-bodied villagers here to do anything about it. You'll need to gather at least a couple of thousands more people from other villages before we have a decently sized group." Kazuto then turned to Rinrin with a hint of amusement on his face. "And no, Rinrin, you only count as one person, regardless of how many you can kill alone."

"I wasn't going to say anything!" Rinrin complained, but a hint of a smile was on her face. "Well, let's go do what we can! The faster we help people get back on their feet, the sooner we can eat!"

And so, staving off their hunger for a bit longer, the four branched out to various places. The man who remained looked up thoughtfully. What did their saviors need? An army, and food… very well. They'll at least give their saviors that much. And so, a small plan had formed in the mind of the man.

* * *

-()-

Rinrin hefted heavy objects that had fallen on the wayside. Her physical prowess has always been her main selling point, and she used that almost absurd strength to full effect. And so, she was the one placed to be in charge of delivering the supplies needed to and fro. Leaving her Viper Spear behind for now (with Touka, who was at the healer's residence); she hefted as many things as she could. But soon, she realized she wasn't entirely needed, as the villagers insisted on not relying on her completely.

She sighed as she watched the people work hard to fix their livelihoods. A sad smile appeared on her face. They were working so hard to fix things, and yet… they knew that the Yellow Turbans will definitely come back… They will want revenge for the failure… No, it's possible that they are not looking at that particular possibility, not quite yet.

"Ah, Chou Yokutoku-dono. Please don't worry yourself too much. We will make it through this crisis."

She turned to find an old man with a small smile on his face. "We'll make it through. We are hardy people after all… I'm sure we can manage to get by somehow. Oh, and thank you for everything you've done for us."

"I know… I just don't want things to end up like in my hometown." Rinrin replied sadly.

"… Can I ask for a favor, Chou Yokutoku-dono?" A questioning look appears on Rinrin's face, but the old man pressed on. "Some of the village children lost their parents in this situation… I'd like Chou Yokutoku-dono to help them tide through their worries. Play with them for a bit. I'm certain they'll be happy." Rinrin looked back and nodded.

"Okay! Rinrin will do that as soon as she could!" And with a brighter, yet still somber smile, Rinrin went running. Finding something else to do, she decided to speed away as fast as she could.

"Her strength may be great, but the young one is still a child at heart." The old man straightened his back as he walked. "She'll face greater trials soon, but hopefully she'll be able to find the time to spend as a child."

Rinrin didn't hear those words, and was simply away as soon as she could.

* * *

-()-

Aisha, on the other hand, busied herself by finding what is left of the City Garrison, and organizing them as much as she could. Eating only a few snacks to stave off her hunger, she looked at the map that was on the table.

"How many of the guards are left?" Aisha asked. Upon receiving a number, she grimaced. That's hardly enough, but it'll do for now. "I suggest that you set up a border patrol, to at least give warning when the bandits come back." Aisha pointed out. "While those patrols wouldn't be able to stop the bandits, they could at least give us warning."

"Duly noted." replied the captain of the guard, before sighing.

"Is something the matter?" Aisha asked.

"You are quite knowledgeable, Kan'u-dono. You should understand what's the matter quite easily… I only have a portion of my guards left, most were sent to aid with the task of purging the Yellow Turban rebellion."

"You are the leader of the guard." Kan'u replied, "Chin up, and don't be submissive. You need to be an example to your men and the people."

"Hard to be an example when you failed to resist an attack that devastated the city until your group arrived." The guard replied. "A lot of the people subordinate to me died in this battle."

"All the more reason why you should prepare now." Aisha pushed. "If you feel as if you've failed, then all the more reason you should succeed."

"What about the lack of guards?"

"Hire a few hunters to join in. Make sure that any patrols that are made must have at least one hunter with them. A hunter's eyes would be more useful in this situation than anything else."

"Very well." The man nodded. "Please allow me to deal with the rest. You can take a break, milady."

And with that, she had helped as much as she could with the battle. She certainly hoped that this won't be a common thing. It won't do for an outsider to help with their affairs so often.

She took a breath, and was surprised to see a cup of water being passed to her, along with some fruit. She took it gratefully, only to find one of the village elders chuckling.

"We are thankful to your help, Kan Unchou-dono." The man smiled. "We truly owe a lot to you and your friends."

"We only did as is right." Aisha replied softly. "I'm more surprised that you allowed me to help so much, actually. This is your town; why would you allow an outsider to help so much?"

"This town was, only a few hours ago, devastated by bandits. Any help we get, we might as well consider it a gift from heaven." The old man replied, sadly. "And you four are our saviors; there's no reason for us to reject you."

"But I fear for this town's future if they would just trust the first person that helps them." Aisha sighed.

"Of course." The old man nodded. "After this, do you have any destination in mind, milady?"

"Not really." Aisha shrugged, "My only intention is to just help out. After this, I will speak with Touka-sama and Kazuto-sama about the prophecy. And… when I do… I'm going to ask them to count myself and Rinrin to be among their number as their guardians."

"Oh, a prophecy? Care to share it to me?"

"… I suppose it wouldn't hurt to inform you of the prophecy. According to a fortune teller, by the name of Kanrou, a Heavenly Messenger will come bearing the sky's flames and, together with the Imperial Descendant, will gather guardians, and bring peace to our lands."

"That… and Ryuubi-dono is the imperial descendant, considering her declaration as the descendant of Ryuushou…" then surprise and shock dawned on the old man's face, "Does that mean Hongou-dono is… a messenger from heaven? He indeed wielded rather peculiar flames."

"If the prophecy is true then I have little doubt that it is him." Kan'u nodded. "Even he himself seems sure now."

"And his clothes surely seem unusual; its white sheen reflects so much light." The old man nodded.

"The cloth is apparently called Po-li-e-ster." Kan'u nodded, before passing the remains of the fruit back, "I'm thankful for the fruit. I'll be heading off now."

"Very well, Kan Unchou-dono." The old man nodded as he walked back, thinking on the implications of the prophecy. If it was indeed true… then surely… he should spread it quickly. The blessings of heaven should surely not be wasted when it was given.

* * *

-()-

Sawada Kazuto had decided to go speak with whoever was in charge of the city, only to find the home barren. He even checked for life signals using the various filters his contacts had, but didn't find any. There's no body to speak of, so it can't be that they're dead… Must've run away… Kazuto grumbled. Screaming internally, he walked towards the table to read the various documents scattered about. Fortunately, they were in Chinese (an older variation of it, but Chinese nonetheless), and Reborn has taught him how to read Chinese properly, with help from Aunt Ipin. He might need to consult a dictionary once or twice, but that's what his phone is for. He just charged it yesterday so it should be fine right now. He then idly wondered what would have happened if he had been a normal boy and not a mafia heir… any and all electronics would be utterly worthless, and he probably wouldn't have any Chinese knowledge aside from the Kanji that Japanese shared with it.

Chuckling slightly, he decided that he had enough here. He needed to go to the hospital area and help out with the healing. He WAS the only one here who had modern day practices of healing knowledge around.

"… I wonder how everyone at home is doing." Kazuto mumbled, before shaking his head. Nah, they'll be fine. His father will deal with any ruckus… and even if he doesn't ever return… his little sister will be there to inherit the heir position. Although he would feel very sorry if he ever does leave it all behind…

" _… Hey… father… I think I finally found my calling…_ " Kazuto laughed, speaking in Italian. " _… I'll stay here until the time comes that I have to return… And I'll help along this twisted up story of the Three Kingdoms._ "

* * *

-()-

Touka toiled long and hard, as she wrapped a piece of cloth around an injured man's body. She only has the barest of knowledge regarding treatment of any sort, but that didn't stop her.

"Hey… I heard what you said earlier…" The man winced as he made small talk. "You said you are the descendant of an emperor… is it true?"

"… Yes, it is." Touka nodded. "But I'm a commoner like you now, and have no claim to the throne." She looked sheepishly at the sword on her side, "This sword is the only thing left to me that is proof of my heritage."

"But you still saved us…" The man replied. "You saved us and you gave us hope… I am certain that you are destined for great things."

"That's… I just want to help people now… I haven't thought that far." Touka replied sadly. "At this time, all I wanted to do was help you and the town. And even if I wanted to make a run for the throne, I won't know the first thing I should do."

"If you want to help people, then can I ask that you help us who are suffering first?" The man replied. "If someone like you becomes a leader, I'd think that the world would become a finer place."

"Do you really believe me worthy of that?"

"True, you don't seem too reliable right now…" An imaginary arrow lodged into Touka's heart as she heard those words, "but I believe that people will follow you. At the very least the people of this city of ours would. After all, who else is more worthy than who we all revere as our savior to lead us when the bandits return?"

"I… I don't know if I'm worthy of leading others though." Touka gave a small smile.

"Well, that's fine for now. At least you are considering it. Don't worry, once the time comes, I'm sure you'll eventually learn the ropes." The man chuckled. "I think this should be fine. You should go see the others. I'm sure they'll be grateful to you. Also… thank you. For everything."

"… No. Thank you. Thank you for giving me a reason to strive for peace." Touka smiled. "… Kazuto-kun called me the Hero of Peace before, but… I wonder if I rightly deserve that title… but nonetheless, I want to help people; that's all that I understand of my wishes." Touka looked up, "Well, I'll go tend to another person. It's nice to speak with you, kind sir."

"It's nice to speak with you as well." The man nodded, before lying back down onto the mat he was placed upon.

Touka stood up, and stretching slightly. She was about to move on when she spotted Kazuto walking towards her. "Kazuto-kun, hello."

"Hello Touka." Kazuto replied easily. "How are you?"

"I've been doing well enough." Touka nodded. "What are you doing here?"

"Just helping out. The leaders' home was empty though. I suspect the man ran away in the chaos. He either died to the bandits, or is in a faraway place and doesn't intend to come back."

"Couldn't he be just hiding in the building?"

"I checked, and he wasn't." Kazuto shook his head. "At the very least, let's start doing things… Oh, is that Rinrin's spear?" Touka turned to where Kazuto was looking and found the utterly heavy spear lying down on the ground nearby. It takes nearly two men to even move the thing, and the spear was decided to be left alone there to be picked up by the amazingly strong girl.

"Yeah. Rinrin is out helping around town." Touka nodded. "Nee, Kazuto-kun… can I ask you something?"

"Sure, what is it?" Kazuto asked back.

"… Is heaven peaceful?"

"… By heaven, you mean where I came from?" Kazuto replied with a question. Touka nodded and Kazuto gained a thoughtful look on his face. "Hmm… compared to here? Yes, it is quite peaceful but only if you look at the big picture. On the small scale? No. No matter what kind of peace there is, there will always be chaos in the midst of it."

"So even heaven can't have true peace?" Touka sighed sadly.

"True peace huh… In all honesty, Touka, why do you think chaos exists in the first place?" After waiting a while, Kazuto simply gave her a bitter smile. "Chaos is born because people are different. And those different people will clash. And when they do, some will clash with all their might. But that's natural. Your beliefs will be different from the person next to you or the person across the room."

"But surely they can come to an understanding? A solution that makes them happy?"

"But to come to that solution, they need to clash first, right? Solutions are solutions because they need to have a problem first." Kazuto replied, "But the problem here is that people are all different. So, tell me, Touka: can you change the fact that people are all different? Can you make Rinrin act like Aisha? Can you make Aisha act like Rinrin?"

"That's… impossible." Touka replied, slightly disturbed. "Rinrin-chan is Rinrin-chan. Aisha-chan is Aisha-chan. If I make one act like the other, then they won't be them anymore."

"Exactly." Kazuto nodded, "So the only true way to remove chaos is against our own morals. So what can we do now?"

"… So it's impossible?"

"Yes." Seeing the glum face on Touka, he just smiled. "But that's why peace is such a beautiful thing." Touka's face shot up in surprise. Kazuto simply continued, "Although people can say it's an impossible dream, and it's a dream rife in hypocrisy, I think a hypocrisy that can save others is much better than acting on some base logic like survival of the fittest and all that."

"I think I understand… You mean, even though it's impossible, I should keep going after it?"

"That's right." Kazuto nodded. "Impossible things are impossible, but chasing after the impossible is still worth it."

Touka nodded, understanding the words that her friend has just told her. She smiled before asking, "Where did you learn all this?" She was impressed with the amount of wisdom he had. "Is it from your teachers?"

"Not really." Kazuto laughed, "I learned it mostly from my father."

"Your father?"

"Yeah. My father is someone like Touka-chan." Kazuto shrugged, "He is something of a Hero of Peace back in my world. He keeps trying to keep the peace of the world, but, in the end, he realized that it's too difficult for one person alone. He eventually told me all this, when I asked him about it."

"Your father sounds like a great man." Touka smiled.

"He is." Kazuto nodded. "Sawada Tsunayoshi is the greatest man that I know." Silence beckons the two of them. Neither spoke for a while, and neither did anyone else. Kazuto was stuck reminiscing about his father, and Touka was slowly and surely building up courage.

Touka looked up at Kazuto with a small smile, "Nee, Kazuto-kun… I decided… I want to help bring peace back to these warring lands… so… can I ask for your help?"

"Yeah, no problem." Kazuto nodded. "If that is what you want, then who am I to stop you?" Kazuto smiled, as he realized he is bearing witness to the beginning of Ryuubi's journey. However twisted the situation he is in, this was still an incredible moment.

"… Thank you… Can you help me ask Rinrin and Aisha to help us out too?"

"There is no need for that." A voice coming from their side and they saw Rinrin and Aisha looking at them. Both looked slightly apologetic, before Aisha continued speaking, "Sorry for eavesdropping, but we can't help but listen. I am sure there are many others here who listened in." Looking around, they saw various curious glances that quickly looked away.

"Mou, Aisha-chan is rude." Touka pouted, almost childishly. Aisha sputtered slightly at that, but Kazuto and Rinrin simply laughed.

"Well, we are in the middle of a room full of injured people, and we weren't exactly quiet." Kazuto shrugged. "It's not really a big deal to be overheard either." All the same, Touka continued pouting, before smiling as well. Kazuto coughed slightly to grab her attention and then gestured to the duo. "Well, Touka, why not ask Aisha and Rinrin now?"

"Umm… You heard me right? So… can I ask you to help me chase that impossible dream?" Touka smiled.

"That has been our goal from the very beginning, no matter how impossible it is." Aisha nodded, smiling brightly, "If Touka-sama and Kazuto-sama has finally found a cause to fight for, we'll fight under you. After all, now our causes have aligned."

"You can count on us!" Rinrin laughed, "By the way, can we eat yet? Rinrin is starving! And anyway, this is something that should be celebrated over food!"

"Is it alright?" Touka turned to the nearest healer, who waved her off.

"You've done so much for us, we feel too indebted to you to reject your request. Please, enjoy yourselves."

"Well, if that's the case, then we'll be grateful." Kazuto nodded, "Let's go everyone. We can probably have a small feast back at Touka's home."

"Does that mean I get to ride on your eiyabaiku again?" Touka asked excitedly, leaving confused faces all around them.

Kazuto chuckled, "Sorry, the thing is meant for one person, three being the maximum amount that I'll allow on it, so we'll just borrow some horses from here." Touka nodded in response slightly put out, but understanding the situation. Aisha and Rinrin was just left confused.

"… What's an Eiyabaiku?"

Touka looked like she was about to explain, but Kazuto simply shook his head. "Hurry up already."

* * *

-()-

However, their plans for a celebration was… strangely changed. Instead of being a small celebration in Touka's home… they found that Touka's mother prepared a special feast in their family's special garden. The sun continued to set, and, already turning the sky red-orange, they found a strange spectacle.

"Touka's mother really went all out." Kazuto looked at the setup in shock. Touka agreed upon the statement when she saw exactly what her mother had done. How did she manage to get such a grandiose set up done was beyond her. In the distance, Touka could spot the retreating backs of various villagers. Did they help? Touka was unsure.

"This is the best that your mother can accomplish. Some villagers also arrived to give some food to add to the feast." Touka's mother stated from besides her. "Now, enjoy this feast with these young warriors…"

"This is truly magnificent, befitting of a descendant of an emperor." Aisha praised.

"It looks really great." Rinrin nodded, "Thank you, Touka's mom!"

"Thank you… mother." Touka smiled brightly. And with that, Touka's mother left the area, leaving only the four of them to sit on the four ends of the square table.

"Now, this is the perfect time and place to swear ourselves to our new masters." Aisha pointed out, Rinrin nodding along excitedly.

"Hold on…" Touka stopped them. "I may be the descendant of an emperor but I'm still a nameless girl with nothing to her name…"

"Not nothing; you helped save the village with us." Kazuto pointed out.

"My point still stands." Touka said, slightly affronted by the interruption, "Being called master won't sit well with me, especially since all my life I've been a peasant…"

"Then, why not swear ourselves as siblings?" Rinrin pointed out, "If you will not accept being Rinrin and Aisha's master until you become known throughout the land, then simply being a sister should be enough, right?"

"That will be fine." Touka nodded with a smile on her face.

"But since we are to be subordinate to you, then we should be the younger siblings." Aisha nodded, "And naturally, Kazuto-sama shall be our eldest brother."

"Wait, I'm part of this?" Kazuto said, shocked. The Oath of the Peach Garden was between Ryuubi, Kan'u and Chouhi; there was no reason for there to be a fourth, right?

"Of course you are." Touka pointed out, "We wouldn't want to leave you out of something like this."

"That's right, that's right!" Rinrin nodded vigorously. "And since oniichan is from heaven, he should be above all of us." Kazuto nearly snorted at the simplistic way of deciding, but he sighed and nodded.

"Alright, I'm in." Kazuto nodded, lifting his cup.

"Then let us swear then." Touka smiled, as she raised her cup of wine. The other three around her followed suit.

"""" **Let it be sworn to the heavens! Though we are not born of the same day, we hope to die so!""""**

The four glasses clanked together and together they drank. But before the other three could begin eating Kazuto made a move first.

"Let me make my own oath first." Kazuto then stood towards them. His ring ignited and the flames danced. "I, Sawada Kazuto, swear that, from this day forth, I shall be your ally and comrade. No matter what may come, I will always stand by your side. Whether to prosper or ruin, you shall be as family, standing under the same sky." Brilliant flame streamed from the ring, enveloping all four of them. The sun has already set, but they found themselves in the presence of brilliant orange light. Warmth. Warmth could be felt from the flame that had been the symbol of his will. And soon the flame dispersed.

"Whoa… what was that…" Rinrin asked, confused. "A heavenly oath?"

"I suppose you could call it that." Kazuto laughed, also confused by the sudden flame.

"You called yourself Sawada Kazuto during the oath." Aisha pointed out, slightly troubled.

"Sawada is my true family name. Hongou is the surname I use because using my true surname could be dangerous to me. My father has made too many enemies, and my family feared that my name would become a means to track me down."

"Is that so… Well then, Kazuto-kun, we have heard and I, Ryuubi Gentoku, accept your oath. To prosper or ruin… right?" Touka nodded with a brilliant smile.

"That's a good oath, oniichan." Rinrin nodded. "Chouhi Yokutoku also accepts the oath sworn by Sawada Kazuto!"

"Likewise here." Aisha nodded, "I, Kan'u Unchou, accept your oath. We will strive to meet the expectations that heaven has made upon us." And with a second clink of the cups, they began their feast.

That was the day that changed everything for the existence known as Sawada Kazuto. His flame that was once weak now burned strong. His resolve has now been kindled. And it will now only keep on growing.

* * *

-()-

Nearby was an adult woman watching the four sworn siblings swear their allegiance to one another. Crying so slightly she walked away slowly.

"To think this day would come… Training Touka to be someone fitting of an Imperial Descendant will finally bear fruit… thank you, heaven, for granting my wish." And so she walked away. The peach blossoms fell and scattered through the wind, as fate begins moving ever onward.

* * *

 **Chapter End**

* * *

 **Beta Reader: Genesis SBX**

And here we are at the starting point. That was a long prologue. Sorry about that.


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